Calm Skies
by Ed-L
Summary: Missions,arguing with your partner,spending the day doing nothing but work on your art when your life isn't in jeopardy.
1. Chapter 1

Why Hallo thurr. :D I'm Eddy. L is too lazy to help me with this story (JK) But yeah...  
**  
WARNINGS: There will be guyxguy relationships involved. If you do not like, LEAVE NOW.** **THIS STORY IS RATED T FOR SLIGHT CURSING, BLOODY DESCRIPTIONS,  
AND SOME ADULT THEMES. Some.**

**Disclaimer:**** I, the author, write this to state that I DO NOT. ****DO. NOT**** own any characters mentioned here. The characters and everything mentioned here respectively belong to Masashi Kishimoto, unless stated otherwise.**

Now that that's done, let's get staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaartttteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed!

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"Sasori-no-Danna, hmm." A voice called out. "Damn puppet..." The blonde boy grumbled, currently looking for his Akatsuki partner. "Danna!" Deidara called out. His voice echoed a bit in the empty house Kakuzu had given them for the mission. It was meant to be their "hideout" for the next three weeks. Deidara caught a bit of red at the corner of his eye, and turned to face his partner. Sasori currently had his head hanging out of the doorway, his mouth covered by the door. The rest of his body was still in his room, while his thin hands clutched onto the door frame for some support.

"Danna, we need to go into the village to get some supplies, hmm."

Sasori stepped out into the hallway and Deidara tried as best as he could to not stare at the currently shirt-less puppet.

"You can go alone. It's not like I have to escort you. You're an Akatsuki member for Kami's sake."

Deidara scowled at this.

"I just wanted to let you know where I was going. Remember last time, how you asked me to let you know where I was during any mission?"

Sasori shrugged, his face giving no emotion. "I honestly couldn't care less where you went. So long as you don't mess up our mission." He said. Deidara rolled his eyes. Not one day, and he already had Sasori in a bad mood.

"Look, Sasori-no-Danna, now I'm asking you if you want to come along. It's not going to kill you." Sasori placed a hand on his hip, a somewhat feminine gesture. "I don't feel like going out, Deidara."

Deidara inwardly smirked. He wondered if perhaps he really could convince Sasori to do something he wanted. "What are you, scared?" Deidara questioned. Sasori gave a slow smile. "And what? You want _me _to go out into a village as a_ puppet?_"

"If you put it that way, it sounds bad, hm. Just put your stupid heart into another body. I thought you were a genius, Sasori."

"Y'know, I think you secretly like it when I am shirtless."

Deidara narrowed his eyes at his partner "Like I want to see you shirt-less, you sick, perverted, pedo-" Before Deidara could finish he was facing the tip of chord that resided where Sasori's stomach used to be. "Go ahead. Try it, Sasori." Sasori showed no emotion as poison dripped from the very tip of the chord.

"I dare you, hmm."

Sasori gave Deidara a glare and sulked off into his room. Deidara knew Sasori didn't have the guts to truly harm his partner. Which was an enjoyable weakness to the blonde artist. Deidara sat on a chair near the doorway, waiting to see if Sasori would perhaps change his mind and join him. When ten minutes passed, Deidara sighed and went to get dressed. The normal attire for the Mist village was a variety of simple coats, pants and shirts. Deidara went with black pants and a blue shirt for that day. As he closed the door to his room, he turned to see Sasori, standing there with one of his more human bodies. "Come on." Sasori said, beckoning Deidara. "Yeah I know Danna. You hate waiting, hmm." Deidara grabbed some money, along with the hideout keys, and followed Sasori out the door.

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"It's pretty nice weather Danna, hmm." Deidara said, walking through the forest, shielding his eyes from the sun.

"It won't be as sunny in the mist village. And their economy is none too good. Try not to flaunt how many coins we have."

Deidara looked over to see Sasori walking, his head looking down. It was cute, the way Sasori would unconsciously act like a child. They had been partners for almost two years. Deidara knew the way Sasori worked. As well as the dark past to Sasori's sadistic puppeting skills.

"Deidara..."

Deidara snapped out his thoughts and turned to face Sasori. "What is it-?" Deidara froze, understanding why Sasori was playing the 'innocent look'. Intense chakra was around them. Anbu, Deidara thought. Around five of them. The two Akatsuki continued to walk towards the village, seemingly unaware of their welcoming party. "Should we fight them?" Deidara whispered. Sasori gave a small cough. Deidara, because he was close enough, heard Sasori's masked "No." Deidara put his hands in his pockets, hiding the mouths on his hands.

If the Anbu decided to interrogate them for any reason, both Deidara and Sasori had a plan. And if acting like innocent travelers didn't work, they could always kill them. It made no sense, what with all their arguments and differences, but Deidara and Sasori could make the perfect team when they wanted to. "Stop!" A voice cried. Both partners froze, turning to face in every direction. If they showed they knew exactly where the Anbu were hiding, it would most likely reveal their true potential. "Who's there?!" Deidara shouted, facing up. Immediately, five Anbu greeted the artists. All had the same Mist masks.

"_Who are you? You have never been seen in these parts_."

Deidara waited to see if Sasori would perhaps respond. The silence was broken when a woman Anbu called out, "_Answer us_!"

"... My name is Reikon," Deidara called out, his voice significantly lighter, "And this is my traveling partner, Ichigo." Sasori bit his tongue, none too fond of his new name. "We are travelers whom want nothing but to restock our supplies. Please, understand that we mean no harm." The Anbu looked at each other and then back at the two boys.

"We will be watching you closely, for our village's safety. We hope you can perhaps understand."

Deidara smiled and held up his hands. "My partner and I will not object." Sasori, as the conversation as going on, felt the chakra on each Anbu. If Deidara and Sasori wanted to, they both could have easily gotten rid of their pesky followers. But for the sake of the mission as too high. "Come, _Ichigo_." Deidara said, wrapping his arm around Sasori's shoulders in a friendly manner. The Anbu left as fast as they appeared and after a few moments of silence and more walking, Sasori shoved Deidara's arm off of him. "Hah, those idiots, hmm. Thinking they could just give us a false warning, hm."

"What the hell was that Deidara? Ichigo? Are you making fun of my hair color again?"

Deidara snorted and whispered, "Look, your hair _is_ red, hmm. Sort of like a strawberry. Even if it does look pink sometimes, hm. Even Kisame and Kakuzu agree with me on the pink thing, hmm."

Sasori scowled and folded his arms across his chest.

"And here I thought a guy around thirty years old would be more mature than me."

Sasori ignored his partner's comment and calmly made his way to the village gates.

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The village was all in all... very vacant. Sasori scowled, watching the blonde boy look for whatever goods were buyable. Poor and sickly looking merchants stood in a very depressing looking bazaar. The air was moist, which Sasori could slightly feel in his current, more human body. "This place is filled with all sorts of nasty characters," Sasori whispered to his partner.

"Relax. I can take care of myself, Sasori-no-Danna, hmm. Question is can you really handle being in your "human" body, hmm?"

Deidara was obviously aware of Sasori's various puppets and how they worked. The blonde ninja knew Sasori was sensitive, emotionally and physically, in his current state. It almost made him feel bad. Almost being the keyword. "Anbu." Sasori breathed out, letting Deidara hear his warning. Deidara was careful about hiding his money. The last he wanted was to attract attention from any villagers, or Anbu.

"Grandma, I want that bear! Pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaasee."

Sasori turned around, eyes wide at the scene before him. A young boy, probably no older than ten, was clutching onto an older woman's sleeve. "Please grandma!" The boy pleaded again, pointing at a poorly made teddy bear in a small stand of broken looking toys. "Akiyori, you know we have to be more careful how we spend our money." The elderly woman said, looking down at the boy. Sasori couldn't help but frown and feel lonely. He tried to break his gaze, but one sentence from his childhood caused a pang of pain within his heart.

_"Grandma Chiyo, when are Mother and Father coming back...?"  
__**"... Just wait... a little longer Sasori. They'll be back... soon... I promise..."**_

"Liar." Sasori hissed unknowingly. Deidara turned around, and stared at Sasori curiously. His eyes went from the young boy and his grandmother to Sasori. Deidara quickly tried to get Sasori's attention somewhere else. "Sa-... Ichigo look!" Deidara cried turning Sasori around and pointing at rotting strawberries at a stand. Sasori's thoughts were broken and Deidara's words registered in his mind. "Very funny." He said coldly. Deidara laughed, blatantly giving Sasori a small peck on the cheek. "That's the partner I know and love, hmm."

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Deidara and Sasori walked side by side in silence as they made their way back to the hideout in the forest. The Anbu had given up on them the second they left the village. It was a good sign, which meant for both that they hadn't aroused suspicion. "Danna..." Deidara questioned, holding three small bags over his shoulders.

"Hnn?"

"You were upset... well uncomfortable around that kid and his grandmother, hmm. The ones we saw at the village, weren't you?" Sasori gave no answer and merely turned his head away from Deidara. "Hey c'mon, it's not like I don't know your past. You really were at least a little fazed, hmm?"

There was silence and Deidara was about to drop the subject when Sasori whispered in a small voice, "... You know me too well, brat."

Deidara smiled, and dropped everything he was holding. He wrapped his arms around Sasori's smaller frame. "If you think I'm such a brat, why let me know you so well?" Deidara breathed in Sasori's scent. It was a flower-like smell that Deidara found relaxing. "Deidara, let go." Sasori's emotionless voice filled Deidara's eyes. Deidara smirked into the mass of red hair before him and whispered, "Do you really want me to do that, hmm?" Sasori found it hard to think with Deidara holding him so protectively. He would've loved to just give up in the other's arms, but then again that wasn't Sasori's style. He pushed away from Deidara playfully, and held out his hand.

"Gimme the keys Dei."

Deidara pulled the keys from his pocket and dropped them in Sasori's palm. "Good luck with that ugly as hell puppet, hmm." Deidara said picking up the supplies he had dropped.

"It's Hiruko, brat."

Sasori opened the door, leaving it wide open for his partner. Deidara dropped the bags he was holding onto one of the tables and lay down on a couch. "Already tired?" Sasori questioned closing and locking the door. Deidara stretched a little and pointed outside. "It's almost seven. We got here at five, and you had me walking _non-stop _yesterday and this morning. This place sure is far Danna. Hmmm. Not to mention those bastard Anbu know-it-alls. I think I pretty much deserve a break, hmm."

Sasori left the keys next to Deidara's belongings and called out, "Don't bother me. I'll be working on Hiruko." Deidara smiled and whispered to himself, "In other words, 'Bother me and die', hmm. What a twisted personality you have Sasori-no-Danna..."

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Yes. Ichigo means strawberry.  
So tell me what you loved/disliked!  
REVIEW! You know you want to. :D  
... Do it for pink haired Saso!


	2. Chapter 2

Hey! -Waves- Here's chapter two, which explains Saso's body thing. So if anyone finds it doesn't make sense after the explanation give me some advice on how to make it make sense.  
Yeah.  
And I know the "its" in the story's summary should be_ It's _. ;)

Enjoy!

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Sasori sat in the center of his room. His second favorite puppet, Hiruko, lay dismantled in front of the puppeteer. He hadn't bothered to switch back to his puppet body. Sasori supposed he'd have to get used to it. The body was originally Deidara's idea, and Sasori, with enough time, was able to conjure it in less than five months. It allowed Sasori to feel to some extent. There were also small portions of blood in special places of Sasori's body. Most of the blood was directed around Sasori's chest, arms and stomach.

Should he get cut, no one would be suspicious if he bled normally. Their mission had to do with getting inside the village. Supposedly, a villager in the mist village was suspected of having a biju. Deidara and Sasori were assigned to get info on whatever occurrences were suspicious in the small village. But after his quick trip with Deidara, Sasori wasn't sure if there was much to go on.

"Robbers wouldn't dare steal such poor items from sellers like those poor sell-"

Sasori yelped as one of Hiruko's joints caught on some skin on his finger. He instinctively put the finger in his mouth. His eyes narrowed a little before the putting the joint in its proper place. There was a small knock on the door and Sasori turned to see Deidara walk in. His hair was slightly ruffled, and he wore a tired expression. The red head guessed he had fallen asleep.

"What was that, hmm?" Deidara asked.

Sasori took the finger out of his mouth and responded coldly, "What was what, brat?" Deidara entered the room, closing the door behind him.

"Get rid of that useless facade Sasori-no-Danna, hm. I know you're in your human body. And I was talking about that squeak, hm. I didn't know you could sound so girly, hmm."

Sasori growled a little, and turned back to his puppet. "There you go again Sasori-no Danna! Stop taking everything so personal, hmm! I was just poking some fun at you." Sasori turned around, face void of emotion. "Deidara, I don't have time for your games." Sasori heard Deidara laugh lightly.

"Sasori, you know I don't mean any of it. Don't be like that. We both know it annoys me, hmm."

Sasori turned around, away from Deidara. Both let the silence continue before Sasori said aloud, "I wonder if you really know how much I sometimes do care about you." Deidara sat down next to his red haired partner.

"Sometimes I wonder if you're always this childish, Sasori-no-Danna..."

"No, it's just around you..."

Deidara snaked his arms around Sasori's waist and let his partner slowly get used to the new feeling. "Deidara, let-" Sasori paused and sighed. Screw it, he thought to himself as he submissively let Deidara continue. Deidara let his fingers run through the younger looking boy's feathery hair. Sasori let out a relaxed sigh, an obvious sign of his enjoyment to this new attention. Deidara had never been this close with his partner. The blonde boy kissed the side of Sasori's neck affectionately and softly whispered, "How much can you feel, hmmmm?"

"Almost as good as a human."

Deidara continued to pet Sasori gently. "That's good, hmm." Deidara said aloud. Both wanted to stay as they were for as long as possible. Sasori didn't mind it much when the blonde frequently decided to show the puppet master some physical attention. Sasori actually sort of liked it. But like hell he'd say it aloud.

"Come sleep with me, Sasori-no-Danna." Deidara spoke against the silence. The puppet wriggled out of Deidara's grasp, his eyes wide with amazement.

"What exactly do you mean by that, brat?"

Deidara laughed, leaning forward and whispering in Sasori's ear, "Little pervert, hmm." Sasori's cheeks developed a light pink color and Deidara gave his trademark smirk.

"Come on Sasori. I don't bite, hmm." Sasori looked from Deidara to Hiruko. He repeated the process another three times before standing up, letting Deidara follow him.

"You're lucky I have emotions in this body."

"Oh is that how it works, hmm?"

"I think I've explained this to you already. By surrounding my heart in a container and placing it in semi-harmful poison, along with the right body of course, I can make myself immune to feeling. All I have to do is support it with some chakra. With this body, my heart is placed with my same blood type. With that, I can feel emotionally. Add chakra pathways I put in my body, and that acts exactly like a nervous system which helps me feel phys-"

Sasori was cut short as Deidara hugged Sasori from the back tightly. "Take it easy Danna, hm. I know the whole deal with your heart container." Deidara said, walking ahead, and opening the door to his room. Sasori looked inside, actually amazed at Deidara's neatness. At the far right corner of the room was a bed with a small nightstand to the left of it. Various bags with Deidara's belongings were lined up on the farther left of the room. There was a shelf, next to the door and a small window above the bed.

"Good job actually keeping it neat Deidara."

"You expected it to be messier?"

"Something like that."

Sasori cautiously entered the room, a sort of nervous feeling bubbling in the pit of his stomach. "Come on Danna, hm. You act like I'm going to kidnap you." Deidara pushed Sasori onto the bed, pinning the red head under him. "D-Deidara!" Sasori gasped, trying to get the blonde artist to let him go. "Relax, hm." Sasori sat up against the headboard as soon as felt Deidara get off him.

"You don't need to sleep do you?" Deidara asked, lying down next to his partner. "No. If you want I'll stay a bit." Sasori said. A second later, he felt Deidara pull him down against the pillows. "You owe me Danna, hm. You woke me up with your girlish yelp."

"Pffft. At least I'm not as girlish as you." Sasori's hand ran through Deidara's yellow hair lovingly.

"Hilarious Danna, hm. At least I'm not as misguided as you. Art is a fleeting moment of beauty."

"Art is eternal. It's as simple as that." Sasori said letting the strands of hair he had held drop back onto bed.

"Art is a bang, hm."

"It's Eternal."

"Fleeting, hmm."

Sasori let Deidara place a hand on his waist, and another at the back of his neck. "Art is the beauty of keeping something forever. The beauty of seeing it last through everything."  
Deidara leaned forward, both partner's lips barely touching. "That's love Sasori, hmm." Deidara whispered against the other's lips, "I'm talking about art, hm." Both wasted no time in giving the other a small kiss. That was the last thing Deidara felt before the blonde allowed sleep to overtake him.

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Say it with me:  
_D'awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.  
_Review if you can, please. : )


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 mates! And thx to my reviewers. All your reviews made me happy! And remember that bloody description warning I put? That comes into play in this chapter.  
And hey, guess what? I finally have a Microsoft Word! No more grammatical errors, I promise!  
This chapter is for my best friend. They know who they are. ;3

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Deidara awoke to the sound of rain. And thunder. Through the curtain, he could see the lightning lighting up the sky. The sun had not yet risen, and he groaned as he tried to turn over, in a more comfortable position. "Da hell, hm?" Deidara whispered, feeling a weight on his chest. He looked down, and in the light provided by some lightning, saw a flash of red. He smiled with sudden understanding.

Sasori.

The ex Suna nin currently had his head on Deidara's bare chest. One hand gripped Deidara's side and the other was left on the blonde's shoulder. Deidara watched his partner, wondering if Sasori was asleep. Even in a human body, he didn't need sleep, right? He let a hand caress down Sasori's arm, and then guided his fingers over the other's cheek. It was amazing how realistic the body was. Deidara knew deep down Sasori was not entirely human, but the puppeteer's 'skin' was warm to the touch, and ever so soft. He played with Sasori's hair before relaxing into his pillow.

"Deidara..."

The blonde ninja looked down again to see Sasori's eyes, half closed. He wore a semi-curious expression and he had to admit, Sasori did look cute.

"What is it Sasori-kun, hmm?"

It was rare moments like these when Deidara dropped the "Danna" at the end of Sasori's name. It matched his current child like appearance anyway.

"Deidara we shou-" Thunder boomed and Sasori's head snapped towards the window. The rain was still evident. Deidara followed Sasori's gaze, realizing what he was about to say.

"You expect us to go into town with that rain, hmmm? And at this hour?"

Sasori lay his head back down into Deidara's chest, and listened to the other's heartbeat.

"We need to start as soon as possible. Once the rain stops, we move. And that leaves us more time to rest at night." Sasori said, sitting up at the edge of the bed. He was still gazing at the window.

"What's the matter, Sasori-kun, hmmm? Scared of thunder storms?"

Sasori turned his head, smirking at his partner.

"As a matter of fact, I like thunderstorms, Deidara."

"Oh? And here I thought you'd be used to the typical sand storms, hm. You were raised in Sunagakure after all, hm."

"All right. We're both up. Might as well get ready."

Deidara scowled, not wanting to exchange his warm bed for the cold air. "One more hour." Deidara groaned pulling his pillow over his head. Sasori contemplated it. One hour couldn't hurt... right?

"I don't even know why I listen to you, brat. I'll give you thirty minutes." Sasori said softly. He stood and left the room. Deidara smiled under his pillow. Maybe they were too close to each other. After all, shinobi were only meant as tools. But honestly, both artists couldn't care less.

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Deidara leaned against a dry tree trunk, looking up at Sasori through the thick leaves of the tree. "It's wet and muddy up ahead. We'll have to take another route." Sasori yelled down. Deidara looked at the grass around them. He expected to see a_few_drops of rain on the grass. But nooooooooooooooooooooo. It was like a mixture of pure green soup. "Nasty, hm..." Deidara murmured, feet now on the tree trunk. Chakra control was easy to any Akatsuki member.

"Why can't we just take today as a vacation, hm? Pein'll never know the difference."

Sasori climbed down the branch he was standing on and carefully maneuvered himself on the tree trunk. He slowly walked down, afraid to collide with Deidara. The last thing he needed was to make a new body.

"It will look suspicious if we show up tomorrow rather than today Deidara. Those Anbu weren't very happy about the idea of visitors."

Deidara jumped from the tree trunk to the ground, avoiding the deep puddles of water.

"Yeah, but what will we do once we go there? Walk around like lost idiots, hm?"

Sasori shook his head and followed Deidara. "You're Reikon, I'm Ichigo. Simple as that. All we need to do is interact. Once we gain their trust, we gain knowledge. They have to know something about a biju or jinchuriki."

"They can't be that idiotic, hmm. They have to suspect us at least a little." Deidara said,

"This is why we have to be serious about this whole mission. To an elite shinobi, this mission is no problem."

Deidara wondered if that was an insult or praise. It was hard to tell with Sasori sometimes.

Through a drier route, Deidara and Sasori managed to get to the Mist village. This time, there was no Anbu. "They're probably watching us", Deidara thought. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Sasori yawn, something he wouldn't do if he had his puppet body. The red head, miraculously, had a gone a whole 24 hours in his new body. Deidara was about to start wondering why exactly when Sasori's voice broke his thoughts.

"Reikon, How much money do we have?"

"Around... **8,364 yen**, hm."

In such a poor looking village, having that amount could easily be mistaken as rich.

"Let's buy some breakfast, hmm. Unless you want to do the honors of helping me cook, Ichigo..."

"No. We'll see if there's a place to eat. It'll count as lunch though. If there is even some decent food here..."

They walked the same streets as last time, and found a small little ramen place. "What about there, Ichigo-no-Danna, hm?"

Sasori acknowledged Deidara's politeness and nodded. "It looks okay. If you want, I'll taste test the food."

"Stop being so paranoia. Besides, if they even think to poison us, you can just whip up an antidote, hmm."

"...True."

Upon entering, Both artists were met with a young waitress. "Hello there. What can I get for you today?" She asked. Sasori was not enjoying her happy-go-lucky act. "I'll just have some ramen, and tea." While Deidara ordered, Sasori looked around. It seemed normal. His eyes scanned the small building once more before he was interrupted.

"Come on Ichigo, sit down." Deidara said, abruptly bringing Sasori down to an empty seat next to him.

As the waitress came back, she lingered on the counter before asking, "So who is he, if you don't mind me asking."

"Traveling partner, hm." Deidara answered, taking a sip of tea and pointing at Sasori. The girl beamed. That was something else that came with "Out-of-Hiruko Sasori". He usually attracted attention. Female attention to be more precise.

"So you're travelers? How exciting!" The girl kept her gaze on Deidara and then turned to look at Sasori.

Sasori noticed the attention placed on him without having to look at the waitress. He could feel it, which thoroughly annoyed him. "So how old are you?" She asked, obviously addressing the red head.

Older than you'll ever know bit-

"Seventeen." His voice held a sort of than usual and Deidara almost laughed.

"So you come from..."

"Iwagakure. And Reikon comes from Konoha. We were sent to help out mining sites more north of here."

"Mining sites? Two handsome boys like you?"

"Oh she is definitely hitting on us", Deidara thought.

Sasori gave the girl one of_ the most _charming smiles he could muster. Even Deidara found it oddly... attractive. He was definitely going to poke fun at Sasori about this later.

"Thank you for the compliment Miss." He said.

Deidara finished his ramen casually and stretched before getting up. "Thank you for the meal Miss." Deidara said politely, leaving the money on the counter. "Call me Aoi." The brunette answered, winking at Deidara. Deidara pretended not to notice.

"Come on Ichigo. We've got some looking around to do."

Sasori stood from his chair but not before Aoi called out, "Red head, would you mind coming here for a minute?" Sasori shrugged nonchalantly and walked over to the waitress. "If you need somewhere to stay I could take you to my house. Y'know, get away from Reikon for awhile." She whispered and gave another wink. Deidara heard it though and waited for Sasori's answer. Sasori swore to himself if he wasn't on a mission, he would have surely punched her face in. Nasty wretch... but Sasori, being the smart aleck he was, paused and smiled sweetly.

"Sorry_ Miss Aoi_, but I'm gay."

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The next minute that followed was the longest Deidara had ever felt. He grabbed Sasori by the back of his shirt and dragged him into an alley way, careful to avoid any suspicion.

"Sasori have you lost your mind?!" Deidara whispered, glaring at the puppeteer. Sasori wore his usual bored expression and shrugged.

"Do you want me to lie?"

Deidara stood there, giving Sasori a face that clearly screamed, "What the hell?"

"What do you mean lie, hm?"

Sasori shrugged again, fixing his shirt. "She was the one who clearly asked me out. I basically gave her an obvious no, brat."

And just like that Deidara felt Sasori's lip against his own. It would've been more sensible for Deidara to break the kiss, but he was enjoying this far too much. The blonde instinctively placed his hands at Sasori's hips, rubbing in small circles while Sasori allowed himself to be captive in his partner's hold. Deidara ran his tongue over Sasori's bottom lip asking for more.

He was surprised when the red head opened his mouth and let out a muffled moan. Deidara in turn, ran a hand through his lover's hair, letting his tongue explore the other's mouth. Sasori kissed back feverishly and his face was hot with evidence of a blush. It felt so good for both of them... But all good things must come to an end. Deidara pulled away, gasping for air as Sasori pressed his nose into the crook of his partner's neck.

"I'd rather stick with you." Sasori breathed out, pulling away from Deidara. Deidara caught his breath quietly and followed Sasori out of the alley. "How suspicious is two guys walking out of a deserted alley, hm?" He asked, his heart still beating rapidly. "Very," Sasori responded, "Only if they get caught."

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Both were sure to stay clear of a certain little ramen shop. In the meantime they walked through most of the village, mapping out every section. They socialized a bit, giving a slightly different story from what they gave Aoi, the waitress. Through their small talks and walk through the village it soon turned from 1 P.M to 7 P.M very quickly. The sun was close to setting and Deidara found himself wanting to just lay down and enjoy the night air. "There's no doubt that with night, a village like this would hold criminals. Let's get back to the hideout." Sasori whispered, waiting for Deidara to follow him.

"I swear, on the very last day of our mission a lot of people are going to turn up dead, hm."

"Was it because that old man thought were a girl?" Sasori laughed out.

"That and that ugly as hell waitress hitting on me and you, hmm..."

Deidara thought the village gates looked much creepier in the dark than in the daytime. The forest was not as easy to walk through in the dark. There were still the occasional puddles they had to watch out for. "We'll wait two days before going back." Sasori thought aloud, "It will look like we just stopped at another village. Then we'll start socializing after that..." Sasori paused, noting Deidara was a few feet behind him. He walked back silently, following Deidara's gaze when he reached the blonde. And his eyes widened.

Blood. Everywhere.

Two bodies.

Murder.

How could Sasori have missed that?!

Deidara was one step ahead of Sasori though. He was already surveying the scene. "Our hideout is far from here. It's hidden carefully too, hmmmm." Deidara narrowed his eyes in the darkness, and wished he had his scope. "Looks like a child is one. On the right," He whispered, "It's too small to be an adult." Sasori crept down and watched in the dim light of the dusk where any slashes and puncture wounds were made. Slashes were indeed across the chest of the taller body. The organs could be seen, and a foul smell was starting to drift through the air. "This is not the work of an elite ninja. I'd say it was a Genin. Maybe even a Chuunin. I'd say they were here for at least five hours." Sasori told Deidara.

"Let's get moving then, hmmm."

"We'll have to come back tomorrow. It will look suspicious if we turn up two days later..."

"Only if they find the body, hmm."

"... You're volunteering, Deidara?"

"You've dealt with blood Sasori-no-Danna. You can deal with the bodies. I'll deal with the scene here."

Sasori sighed, knowing in his current body he could feel anything. It was easier to deal with blood when you really couldn't feel. He looked over one corpse, and picked up the taller of the two. He shivered a little at sick sound the body made. It was slurping sound that indicated how badly the internal organs were damaged. Blood oozed out of the wounds, but Sasori knew exactly what to do. He placed both bodies across from each other, taking out a scroll when he was done. He opened it, and took out a brush from his pocket. He dipped it in the blood and began writing signs in the scroll. Deidara watched before realizing his own task.

He looked around, wondering how to make the blood 'disappear'. Blood could get into the smallest places. If an Anbu noticed... They'd order a search. And with a search there was a possibility of someone finding them. If they couldn't get to the village then the mission was one big failure. Deidara heard a buzzing sound. He looked back to see Sasori's hands glowing with chakra. It would be smarter for Sasori to take the corpses in a scroll and examine them safely at the hideout. Deidara frowned unsure of how to deal with the blood though. He stood there and didn't even acknowledge when a pop was heard from Sasori's scroll. A second pop was made, but Deidara ignored it. Deidara was going through his options when he felt a hand on his shoulder and found Sasori had changed his body. But how?

"I'll do it." He said coldly, pushing Deidara back as he removed his hand from the blonde's shoulder. The blonde watched Sasori's hand lift towards the clearing. Water spurted from the palm of the red head's hands. Deidara watched the blood fall from the tree trunk to the ground. It mixed with the puddles caused from the day's earlier rain. Soon, the blood seemed to disappear. The water stopped and Deidara watched the puppeteer's back. The silver blades on his partner's back glowed menacingly. The puppet master turned to look at Deidara, and the warm color in his eyes were gone.

"Even ninja dogs won't sniff out the trail of blood. The water was mixed with poison. It renders any sense of smell useless. The rain will make it hard to tell if any sort of blood was here."

Deidara nodded and paused before asking out, "How did you change bodies so quickly?"

"I summoned up this body and changed the heart container. I couldn't tell if you'd really know how to clean the scene up. Let's go, brat. I hate waiting."

Deidara shivered. Sasori's voice was cold. Not playful as it had been just in the village a few hours ago. "Sure, Sasori-no-Danna." Deidara whispered.  
The air tonight wasn't as relaxing as the blonde thought.

* * *

**8,364 yen is about 80 U.S Dollars. **

Dei doesn't get to spend quality time with his scorpling... But I'm sure you guys have time to write reviews! Just kidding.  
BTW Anyone think I should get a higher rating? At first I didn't think M would suit it, but someone asked on a review if I was going to... I figured I'd ask you guys to help me deicide. There will be more bloody descriptions and the adult themes will come later (real later) but no yaoi. Just a little shounen ai. I'm pretty new to the whole fan fiction thing so opinions, please?


	4. Chapter 4

Hallooooooo. Thanks a bunch to my reviewers!! And for anyone who actually takes the time to read Calm Skies. I wasn't sure if to post this chapter yet, but I'll do it anyway.  
From now on, expect an invasion of fluff bunnies. :3

Okay, chapter time begins now.

* * *

Sasori sighed. The past week had been stressful to say the least. One of the bodies they found did belong to a young child, just as Deidara had said. The other was a woman. An old one, Sasori had proven by the bone structure.

The child and the old woman they had seen the first day...

Sasori shook off that though. What were the odds? What was more important was the way the bodies were damaged. The slashes were long and deep. It definitely wasn't with kunai knives. Kunai were made to cut thin lines.

It was almost as though the attacker had claws...

But they couldn't prove it was a jinchuriki. They had two more weeks until they had to report back to Pein. They needed to act quickly. All they had gotten out of long talks with villagers (Which both none were too fond of) were rumors. Lost travelers, people never been again if they went at night into the forest... But nothing concrete. Nothing that could be truly proven. Sasori let out another sigh, currently in his 'human body'. He played with his hair, twirling and twisting it to his will.

He was lying down on his stomach in his own room. The Sandaime Kazekage puppet was sitting against the wall. Deidara was training in the extra room the hideout provided. Earlier, Deidara had declared that his taijutsu needed work. Ever since, Sasori had not heard a word from him, or even seen him. There were the occasional hints of vibrations where the puppeteer had guessed the blonde kicked or punched too hard.

"Hiruko is all right... We already burned the bodies... And Sandaime is fully functional..."

In other words, Sasori was bored. It was an odd and empty feeling he would've liked to get rid of. Sasori stopped playing with his hair and examined his dark, aqua colored nails. Each nail was carefully painted. They obviously needed no further treatment. Sasori groaned and let his head fall on the bed. He stood and walked out of his room, not bothering to put the Sandaime Kazekage puppet back in its proper scroll. The red head walked on, not noting where he was going until he came face to face with the training room his blonde partner had been in for the last three hours. Sasori knocked on the door timidly.

"Come in, hm."

Sasori opened the door and poked his head in. He stopped his eyes from widening at the sight. Deidara was in the far right of the room, a punching bag in front of him. He was shirtless and Sasori eyed his partner's chest and the mouth it held. Sasori had heard, but never seen, about the mouth Deidara had. It was always concealed, and even now it was tightly sewed shut.

"Deidara."

Sasori could see that Deidara's face was flushed and his words came out in a breathy voice.

"What is it Sasori-no-Danna, hm?"

"How long do you plan to stay in here, brat?"

Deidara laughed and said teasingly, "So you miss having me around, hmmm?" Sasori didn't answer, just kept his grey eyes on Deidara's own light blue ones. "I'm going to take a shower, hm." Deidara announced in the quiet. Sasori cocked his head to the side and watched Deidara leave towards the bathroom. "He just wants to see what I'll say." Sasori thought. In no time, the sound of running water was heard. Sasori ended up just laying on the couch in the living room. He rested his head against the arm rest and closed his eyes.

A biju has to be in the village or near it... But why kill? What did it have to accomplish? It's not like... Unless... Unless it was a jinchuriki? No. What would someone have against a small child and a senior citizen? Maybe it just kills for fun?

No.

Sasori cleared his mind and thought on it again.

We left the village way before those two were killed. Even if it wasn't a biju, someone or something is in the forest. We have to be more careful since-

Sasori's eyes shot open as he felt a pair of lips on his own. He sat up against the couch, letting out a gasp of surprise. "Hey Danna. Hmm." Deidara said cheerfully. He wore a blank tank top with loose fitting black pants. Sasori huffed and scooted over, letting the blonde boy sit next to him. Deidara put an arm around Sasori's shoulder, bringing him closer. It also forced the puppeteer to lay his head on Deidara's shoulder. "You've been pretty quiet today Danna, hm." Sasori chose not to comment and wrapped one arm Deidara's waist.

"What's wrong, hm?"

"... I'm thinking."

"About the mission, hm? We have two weeks left. And it's not like we failed. We still have some interesting information, hmmm."

Deidara let go of Sasori and hugged his knees to his chest.

"C'mon. We had this whole day free and it's turned out be boring, hm."

Sasori turned to his partner and watched the blonde. The way his yellow hair turned gold in the light. The way he was so arrogant and headstrong. Deidara was...

He was a perfect form of art.

And Sasori couldn't deny it.

"Deidara."

"hm?"

"Why do you... Why did you kiss me?"

Deidara turned his head towards the red head, tucking his long bang behind his ear. "Because I wanted to."

That didn't satisfy Sasori.

"But why? There's a reason, Deidara..."

"I think you know why, hmm."

Deidara could tell this conversation would create tension.

"..."

"Because I like you, hm. Is it that hard to understand? For a genius you sure ask obvious questions, hmmm."

Sasori tackled Deidara into the couch and expertly pinned his hands above him. "Hey! Let go, hm!" Deidara growled, squirming to try and free himself from Sasori's grasp. "Listen brat," Sasori said darkly, "Don't you dare talk to me like that." Deidara blinked, and inwardly smirked.

"Like what? You mean how I treat you like you're socially inexperienced, hmm? Or how I usually get you to be the girl in this relationship?"

Deidara fell off the couch and onto the floor. He felt Sasori grab his hair, and as revenge, Deidara dug his nail into Sasori's arm. The puppet master yelped, jumping back from Deidara completely. The other sat up, his gaze on the puppeteer. He crawled to Sasori until they were inches apart.

"I love you, idiot, hm."

Deidara gave Sasori a peck on the tip of his nose, and stood up, leaving quickly. Sasori still sat on the floor, holding his arm. It wasn't that it still hurt, but that Deidara had caught him by surprise. "And that yelp was girlish too, uke." Deidara called, leaving Sasori to go to his own room. Sasori narrowed his eyes angrily. Oh so he was 'uke'? "Just you wait." Sasori whispered. He was _not _one to tolerate disrespect.

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The evening had gone by quickly. Sasori stayed in his room for that time, purposely avoiding Deidara. It was 8 P.M by the time he chose to check on things in the house. It was quiet. Too quiet. Sasori went upstairs to the training room.

Empty.

He checked Deidara's room.

Empty.

And both bathroom doors were wide open. "Where is he...?" Sasori muttered, walking down the stairs hurriedly. He jumped for the last three, and made his way to the living room, where it connected to the kitchen. He found the blonde on a couch in the living room. There was a bowl next to him on the table.

So he had already eaten...

From the way his hands moved, he was obviously molding clay. Sasori watched him from the back, not making a sound. He chose a few minutes later to 'announce' his arrival.

"Brat." Sasori said, walking into the living room casually.

"..."

Deidara didn't turn from his current task. The blonde artist was currently adding details to what Sasori could see was a spider. It wasn't the easily made ones he used for attack. This was done with effort. Sasori sat on the couch adjacent to Deidara, his eyes still on the blonde's face.

"Brat." He ordered.

"I have a name, you know. Hm."

Sasori acted like he had said nothing.

"Brat, so help m-"

"Yeah you need that Danna. Some mental help would be good for you, hm."

"What is with you? You wake up, end up not talking to me for half of the day, now you have the nerve to insult me?!"

"I have a right to."

"And why is that?"

Deidara didn't answer right away. He pretended to work on his sculpture a little more.

"Why do you refuse to acknowledge us as a relationship, hm?"

Sasori's eyes widened.

"C'mon. And I know you were watching me earlier, hm. You think I can't sense chakra? It's so cute to catch you glancing at me. And I know you love me, hm. Even in your puppet body…"

Deidara looked up, finally facing Sasori. His visible eye was narrowed.

"Why don't you treat me like an actual equal? I'm an artist, Sasori, just like you."

Sasori felt like he had lost half his height. And on top of that feeling, there was anger.

"Deidara," He started slowly, "I ..."

He paused, not really knowing what to say.

"I am angry at you, I hope you know. Just because I show you a different side of me doesn't mean I won't ask for respect, as your master."

Deidara rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. I'm sorry almighty Akasuna No Sasori-Sama, hm. Are you happy now?"

"Far from it, actually."

Deidara smiled warmly. "I think I do know you too well. You're just afraid to call me your boyfriend."

Sasori fidgeted a little.

"No..."

This was getting complicated way too fast for both them.

Sasori kept his eyes on Deidara.

"You're not my boyfriend. If you think about it, Deidara."

"Is that so?" Deidara questioned. He had put down his spider down to rest both his hands on his knees.

"So what do you call this relationship, hmm?"

"We're partner. Just partners."

"That kiss, hmm?"

"We're semi-intimate partners." Sasori said, his face serious. Deidara took a deep breath before saying, "In other words, I'm your boyfriend and vice versa, hm." Sasori rubbed his temple. Deidara was persistent, he'd give him that.

"Why are you so intent on getting me to call this relationship... An actual relationship?"

Deidara shrugged."I'm not wasting my time on some bastard who doesn't care about me."

So the boy was being blunt now?

Sasori grumbled something inaudible.

"Couldn't hear you Danna, hm."

"I said _**yes**_ you are my boyfriend. Yes I am _**your**_ boyfriend."

"..."

"Yes, I do care about you, and _yes_ we are in a... **relationship**."

"That must've killed you to say it." Deidara said sarcastically.

Sasori kept quiet.

"I'll take it as a flown blown apology, hm?" The blonde asked, watching Sasori closely.

The red haired boy didn't move and Deidara could tell he was uncomfortable on the subject. Sasori wasn't used to such attention. Both intimate and non intimate. Deidara expected it enough. Sasori was just (Pushing aside his cold exterior) like a puppy. He longed for attention and praise. Deidara thought sometimes that it made Sasori feel safe, with all the power his name had. He had a reputation as a feared ninja.

But the blonde knew how to get him to act like the attention hungry teen he really was. Deidara motioned the red head to him with a single finger. Sasori was hesitant, but a part of him wanted to go to Deidara. So in the end, despite the tension that still hung in the air, Sasori found himself sitting between Deidara's outstretched legs. His head was placed against Deidara's chest. The blonde Akatsuki member stuck to leaning against the armrest. It was a comfortable position that both enjoyed. Deidara's arms made an "X" across the smaller ninja's chest.

"Uke," he whispered teasingly.

"I'm warning you Deidara," Sasori whispered back, eyes closed as his heart skipped a beat. He loved Deidara's voice.

"You know brat... Shinobi rule number one is 'Never show emotions'?"

Deidara laughed softly, his hands lowering to Sasori's waist.

"Well we threw that one down the drain, didn't we, hmmm?"

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Thunder roared and the rain was set to a steady rhythm. The lights upstairs were all turned off. Only a hallway and bedroom light were left on. Deidara and Sasori were lying down on the puppet master's bed. Deidara's head was on Sasori's stomach while the puppeteer stroked the other's hair. The night had a relaxing feel to it.

"Remember what you told that waitress Sasori-no-Danna? The first one we met, hmm?" Deidara asked. Sasori laughed, his stomach making Deidara's head bounce a little.

"Yeah."

"Did you really mean it?"

"Mmm-hmm."

Deidara smirked. "Too bad we never went back, hmm. I'd have loved to see what she'd say if we went back, hmmmm."

"Deidara... I think tomorrow we shouldn't go to the village. Let's just wander around the forest."

"Wander, hmmm?"

"Not wander," Sasori paused, "We should just check out the area around here. Maybe there is some more signs of anything else that's suspicious. Those bodies... It's just that the way that murder was constructed, it just..."

"It makes you feel uneasy, hmmm?" Deidara finished.

"Yes. That was no accident. If they have no problem killing a child, then they're either cowardly, or cruel."

Deidara looked up at Sasori, a thought coming to mind. "You call them cruel, hm? I've heard you have some child puppets, hm."

"That's different. It's art."

"No. Art is fleeting, hm."

"Don't. Start."

Deidara smiled and placed head back down on the other's stomach.

"Danna..."

"Hn?"

"What's the plan now, hmm?"

Sasori had already seen a map of the surrounding forest. With his photographic memory, he had memorized it. "The forest is around... Two acres at most."

"So we'll have to split up, hm?"

"We'll cover more ground. We really don't need to go into the village tomorrow. We still have supplies to last another four or five days. I don't need to eat so we don't have to worry about that. And plus, the villagers remember us well. Reikon and Ichigo aren't very common names here. And the Anbu are already used to us, especially with those fake I.D's we keep showing everyone."

Deidara stayed silent, listening to his partner carefully. "But what if the murder scene we found was just coincidence, hm? Maybe it had nothing to do with our mission, hmm." Deidara said. "No... I have a feeling it has a lot to do with our mission, Deidara. We'll make a decision tomorrow. If we don't find anything interesting, we'll just go about our original plan." Sasori answered.

"So we'll start off at the original murder scene, hm. The place where we found the two corpses. Then we'll work from there, hmmm."

"Exactly, brat."

Thunder roared outside, almost like a cry.

"It's awful rainy around here, hm." Deidara said, nuzzling Sasori's flat stomach.

"Well, the weather is rarely sunny. That's why it's called the "Mist" village."

"Yeah but-"

"No arguing Deidara. I think it's time you went to sleep."

Deidara sighed and laid his head next to Sasori's. The puppeteer brought the covers over them both.

" 'Night Danna." Deidara said, yawning.

"Good night Dei..."

Soon, there was only one hallway light on in the hideout. There was not a sound, save for the rain outside.

* * *

Hey readers!  
I know those storm scenes are getting repetitive (Well to me at least) but trust me. They actually have a significant role in the story! I really do have a master plan.  
Sort of.  
So any comments/complaints/questions??  
BTW I'd still like to know what you think of the rating.


	5. Chapter 5

If you've ever had the urge to tie up and stick Sasori in a closet, raise your hand.  
-Raises hand-

* * *

"Dei..."

"..."

"Deidara, get up."

Deidara removed his hand from under the pillow only to stick out his middle finger to the puppet. Sasori slapped the hand away and pulled the pillow off Deidara's head.

"Stop being lazy, brat."

Deidara turned to look up at Sasori.

"Lazy? C'mon, hm. What time is it anyway?"

Sasori pulled the covers off Deidara roughly.

"Doesn't matter. When I'm up, you're up."

Deidara gave a laugh, not moving from his position on the bed. "When was this rule established, hm?" Deidara said. Sasori put his hands on his hip.

"Get up, brat. It's five A.M. I let you sleep late."

"Late, hmm? You call that late?" Deidara cried, his voice slightly muffled.

"Yes. The sooner the better. And hurry up. I hate waiting."

Deidara heard the door to Sasori's room close. The blonde artist sighed.

"I wonder if maybe I can just tie him up and stuff in him a closet, hmmm..."

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Twenty minutes later and Deidara had given up his idea of stuffing his shorter partner in a closet. The sun was close to peaking over the hills and both made their way through a dry route to the area close to the village where they had found the bodies. "I brought my scope today, hmm." Deidara said as he jumped from tree branch to tree branch. "I brought my own scrolls as well." Sasori answered back. They jumped from the branches to a small clearing. The clearing where their suspicions started.

"So. You go west, I'll head east. We meet here in thirty minutes. Understand?"

"Yeah, yeah." Deidara said, scanning the area. He was already hyped up.

"Brat, wait."

"What Danna hm?" Deidara said angrily.

He felt Sasori tug on his sleeve.

"Wha-?! ... Oh."

Cut up, unidentifiable body parts. Deidara swallowed, trying to block out the image. It was hard to see them at first, but Deidara's eyes got use to it. It seemed they were haphazardly hidden under the cover of a few branches on the forest floor. "Oh." Deidara said again. "Oh is right." Sasori whispered, cautiously making his way to the . Deidara followed, using his scope. "It looks like one has long hair, so it might be-" Deidara tripped on something and fell flat on his face. "Damn, what the hell was that?" The blonde looked down only to see a head. The eyes were rolled back into the head, and the mouth hung open indicating a broken jaw. Deidara kicked it away angrily.

"So it's the same place, hm? But not the same time... Maybe this does have to do with our mission, Danna, hmmm."

Sasori looked back to see Deidara brushing off wet grass blades from his pants. The area was still wet from the night's rain. "So... I guess we'll have to just check out the bodies again." Sasori said, taking out his scroll and brush.  
"Deidara, scope out the area. Be alert for anyone that might see you."

"Got it, hm." Deidara reached for a small bag of clay in his own pocket. The mouths opened and chewed obediently. A small bird popped from the lips and Deidara threw it in the air. He made his seal, and the bird grew ten times its size. He hopped onto the bird, and it took flight. The blonde used his scope to search for any chakra. There was none. Only hints of it were evident at the clearing. The village wasn't too far off, so Deidara was sure to keep close to the tops of the trees.

"Damn, hm." He said to himself. They were so close! But what exactly were they dealing with? Was it human? Deidara was beginning to believe that perhaps it was a jinchuriki. But then again... It could be another coincidence. Deidara looked through his scope one more time. It checked for chakra signs and heat caused by any animal or human. But nothing. Deidara dove for the clearing and jumped off the bird hurriedly. It returned to its original size, and Deidara made it safely explode. "Nothing Danna, hmm." Deidara said, watching Sasori examine a blue scroll.

"Well I have the bodies. And the scene isn't as messy, so I let Hiruko take care of it."

Sure enough, the bulky puppet Sasori used to ride in was next to Sasori. Its mean eyes glared ahead.

"So what do we do now, hm?"

"We go back to the hideout."

Sasori placed Hiruko back into a red scroll, and he kept the other scroll tightly in one hand. Both Akatsuki members ran through the forest silently. They avoided the occasional branch and puddles. It was no longer than five minutes before they reached the house. Sasori stopped on the door and turned the lock with a silver key. "Want to help me?" Sasori asked, as Deidara kicked off his shoes.

"Yeah, hm. The more the merrier right?"

Sasori made no comment, going upstairs to his own extra room. Deidara was left to lock the door. Sasori shoved the door open and looked around. He'd made sure to clean the place after inspecting the other bodies.

"Okay..."

Sasori opened the scroll and a loud poof was heard. What was originally in the forest was on the puppeteer's examining table.

"It looks worse in the light." Deidara said, leaving the door open behind him.

"Hn... First I'll have to connect the body parts to their appropriate owners."

Deidara didn't like the sound of that. Nonetheless, he put on proper gloves, and placed a mask over his nose and mouth. "It's all just slashes and cuts, hm. But they're all in vital parts of the body. Even the cuts on the arm run down, which makes it easier to strike a vein, hmmm" Deidara stated. Sasori was already expertly piecing together what looked like an adult.

Deidara shook his head dropping the arm. "I can't help you with his Danna, hm." He said.

"Yes you can. Look, just examine them. You have a sharper eye than me." Sasori said.

After awhile, they stood there, looking down at four pieced together corpses. One male, three females.

No matter what they did now, it seemed like they were just going in circles.

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The Akatsuki duo was up the next morning. Even Deidara needed no reminder. He was, remarkably, already at the door by the time Sasori came down.

"I'm sorry for making you wait..." Sasori had said. "It's okay, hm." Was Deidara's reply. They walked in silence back towards the village. The previous day's events replaying in their minds. There were two teens and two adults. Again, it was innocent enough victims. There was a week between the two attacks. There were only slashes and deep cuts, just like the first two they found. They were sure the cuts were not from any kunai or sword. To try and think clearly, both decided a trip to the village would be best. They both took their Akatsuki like cloaks and set out. They passed the same spot as yesterday. Nothing. They both thought so, too.

In the early hours, the village seemed even emptier. "I'm hungry, hm." Deidara announced, already counting the amount he'd knew to spend.

"Let's find a place to eat then, Reikon."

They knew the village well enough to find a small restaurant. The second they went in, both noticed the place was vacant.

"Hello! My name is Publius!"**(1) ** A young man said, his eyes closed and a happy grin on his face. What was it with these 'happy-go-lucky' waiters?! Sasori blocked out their conversation and thought about the idea of a jinchuriki in the woods a little more. So what were they supposed to do? Camp out the whole day at that one spot? They couldn't even say anything would happen there again. For all they knew, there could be more bodies waiting for them when they headed home.

To the hideout, Sasori thought, correcting himself. But it was pretty cozy for a hideout though. Sasori sat across from Deidara in the small booth they were given. He heard only tidbits of the conversation that was still going on. "There have been some missing people lately." The waiter said seriously.

"You don't say, hm?"

"Yes! And some villagers believe the Anbu should look into it, but they're too busy."

The red head took to looking out the window solemnly. There was more than the fate the mission he had to worry about. There was Deidara. And sure the boy was talented, and could take care of himself, but Deidara against a jinchuriki? Could the boy really stand up to it and live to tell? Sasori looked to Deidara, hoping to catch him off guard. But Deidara's icy blue eyes were looking back at him playfully. That was when Sasori noticed Deidara was in the same position as him. One hand under his chin, and the other on his lap. Sasori put both hands on the table and Deidara followed the action.

"That's not funny."

"Lighten up, hmm."

I _can't_ because I'm worried about _**you**_.

"Tch." Sasori ended up saying back.

There was a crash of lightning and Deidara groaned, "Great." He muttered.

"Afraid to get wet?" Sasori whispered teasingly. "No... We just have to travel back with green soup at our feet." Deidara said, looking out the window the same way Sasori had.

* * *

**(1)** Poob-Lee-Us  
There is nothing funny about that name. It's just... different. Now try saying it three times fast, quick! XD  
Okay so... our bishies will finally solve the mystery next chapter! HurraySpaz  
Review if you can pls!


	6. Chapter 6

Oh god, SORRY I haven't uploaded in awhile, but it's a double chapter upload this time! (5 and 6) Since there's some biju that haven't been revealed yet, I'm following wiki (I don't like it much either) as a guide. If anyone objects to this, sorry but I can't rewrite what I already wrote. The story is going pretty smoothly and I'm afraid to change anything that might mess it up.

So here's chapter 6! Enjoy!

* * *

It was an hour before Sasori and Deidara were able to walk the streets again. They both made their way back to the hideout. They passed by the same route as they had the first time they found the bodies.

And what a surprise. More bodies.

More work.

More questions, and no answers.

Sasori sighed, leaning against a tree trunk unhappily. It was a good.. what? Twenty years since he had felt any true emotions? Well he was sure he was feeling downhearted right then and there. Deidara went on to investigate, and made an extremely loud splash as he tried to step closer.

"Fuck this!" Deidara cried, kicking the puddle angrily.

The ground was wet.

With rain.

The thunderstorms... Sasori placed a finger to his cheek. His mind couldn't get the splashing noise out of his head. So what? There were around three thunderstorms since they got-

Waaaaiiiiiiit.

The _thunderstorms._

There was a thunder just now... And the day before there was a thunderstorm!

Sasori's mind worked furiously as Deidara squeezed the water out of the leg of his pants.

"It has to be... Rokubi." Sasori said, eyes wide with understanding. "What, hm?" Deidara asked absently.

"Deidara! Don't you see?"

"..."

"The thunderstorms, Deidara! It is a biju. The six tails has the power of lightning!"

"But... What about the-"

"The six tails is Raijuu. It supposedly has sharp claws."

Deidara could finally see the connection.

"Damn we're pretty stupid..." Deidara whispered, eyes wide. The beast had only killed on days when thunder storms were going on. Because if it were attacked,_ it could use that to its advantage_. Deidara looked at his partner in awe.

"So, it used the lightning to mask its chakra... but what it is it, hmmm? A sealed beast or is it freely roaming around, hm?"

Sasori bit his lip, unsure of what to say.

"Perhaps unsealed, but..."

But then again if it were sealed, it'd be harder to find. But they knew now. They had enough time to work out a plan. And it was all so convenient that the afternoon sky was gray with the promise of a thunderstorm.

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It was dark, rainy, and _cold. _A few things Deidara did not like at all. He clutched his cloak closer to his body, watching through his scope for any signs of movement. They had set up a trap around the clearing. Sasori was stationed across from Deidara, hiding in the trees. He switched bodies back to his "true" form. Sasori however, couldn't care less if it was snowing. He couldn't feel, which was now a helpful advantage.

But Deidara...  
The worry he felt earlier that day was minimized to almost nothing in that body, but it was still there.

He can take care of himself.

Focus on your own mission.

Sasori watched, eyes wide at the clearing. He was closer than his blonde partner, which was better. Deidara was more prone to getting harmed. Not to mention his impulsive nature.

_"Art is fleeting, hmm!" Deidara had yelled at Sasori on one of their first few conversations._

_"No brat. Think like that and your life is gonna be fleeting."_

The red head almost regretted those words now. Thunder crashed, but Sasori's eyes stayed open. There, on the forest floor, was a weasel. An unnaturally blonde one. Raijuu...? Sasori watched it carefully. Earlier, he checked to see if weasels and such were seen often in the forest especially in the months after winter. He had heard they were, but had never heard they were yellow.

And the last time both partners checked, weasels didn't create thunder with their cry. The weasel opened its mouth and thunder sounded through the rain. Sasori was relying on the trap now.

Step on it you stupid son of a-

There it was. The sound of spinning rope reached the puppeteer's ear and he smiled as the small weasel was elevated from the ground on one foot. It gave another thunder-cry and Sasori moved in. "Deidara!"

"Right, hm!"

Deidara jumped out of the trees going to catch the weasel, but after that it all went wrong. Very wrong. The weasel turned from its small size to a very long, dragon like figure. It was as tall as a tree and almost as long as the forest itself. They traps they had weren't designed for that size of weasel.

"Damn!" Sasori cried, throwing kunai to busy it. Electricity emanated from Raijuu's fur and it set its eyes on the puppet master. Jaws snapped shut as it tried to take a bite out of Sasori's arm. The red head was too quick for that though. In escaping, he was able to slash the biju across the arm and Deidara continuously kept throwing explosives in its way. It went on, Deidara distracting it from afar, and Sasori getting close to do serious damage. Things looked good. Almost.

The weasel's tail hit Deidara and the bird was sent crashing to the forest floor.

"Dei!" Sasori looked back at the biju only to be thrown into a tree. He removed himself from the floor and snarled. He took out a scroll quickly, summoning the Sandaime Kazekage. It stood, ready for attack with Sasori calling the shots with light blue chakra strings. There was one explosive from Deidara (Which was almost like an "I'm okay" from the blonde.) and Sasori was able to give Raijuu another slash with his puppet.

The giant animal turned and sparks flew from its fur once again. It was charging up. But for what? Thunder crashed and Sasori widened his eyes as thunder crashed down on him. _Directly_. Yes he was in his puppet body, but that didn't mean he had an invincible heart. It stopped beating and Sasori gasped clutching the heart container. The chakra stopped and Sandaime was left on the floor helplessly.

Deidara distracted the beast, trying to reach the red head. Sasori gasped again and gave a cough as poison from his heart container dripped down his mouth. But he was all right now. Not one part of his body was made of absolute metal. And the container surrounding the organ had stood up to the electricity. The heart slowly continued its beating and Raijuu cried out at the failure of its attack. Thunder crashed down near Deidara.

"No you don't you stupid bastard!" He yelled, smiling as he sent a multitude of clay spiders to attach to the weasel's fur. He made the seal, yelling "Katsu!"

But nothing happened. It was too late for Deidara to realize that his clay was useless against lighting. It was working before, but that was because he never sent his clay sculptures so close. The weasel used its tail again to smack Deidara into a tree. He gave out a strangled, painful cry.

Now it was Sasori's time to choose.

The mission, or his partner.

Sasori turned his head up and picked Sandaime up with chakra strings.

"Deidara!"

The blonde coughed up blood lying defeated. The hit to his head made his eyesight useless. Sasori, upon seeing the biju turn back to it small form, tried to use Sandaime capture it while he went running to Deidara's side. The blades caught the little weasel and Sasori felt his heart swell.

Caught it!

Not.

The weasel grew, forcing Sasori to let it go. With a final cry, the thunder landed on Raijuu itself and near Deidara.

"No!" Sasori thought and used Sandaime to grab Deidara quickly from the lightning. A flash blinded both partners and all was quiet. It left just as fast as it came.

"Deidara-" Sasori watched Deidara push the puppet away and he smirked.

"It used the thunder as a distraction..." Deidara whispered, watching his red haired partner stand in defeat as well. Sasori dropped on his knees, hands clenching the wet grass blades until he had pulled them out of the ground. Never before had he felt so ashamed in his life. What was he supposed to tell Pein now? He shut his eyes and tried to get rid of the sound of falling rain around him. Deidara was safe though. The blonde was going to be perfectly fine, but… his mission.

Sasori had failed.

* * *

D':  
That must suck. For both of them... We get to hear from -DUN DUN DUN- **PEIN! **But that's next chapter. I'm sorry I lack in the "FIGHTING SCENE" writing department... But I try, I swear.  
Review! It makes sad Saso happy again!


	7. Chapter 7

I'm so sorry for my extra late update!! Enjoy!

* * *

"Sasori."

For once, even inside Hiruko, Deidara could feel the puppeteer nervous. They both stood before Pein. Behind him was a pair that was already well known to Akatsuki. Hidan and Kakuzu.

"Yes Leader-Sama."

Deidara could imagine Sasori saying those exact words with a sort of embarrassed tone. Like a bad child caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar.

"Why did it get away?"

"Well it-"

"No." Pein's voice wasn't louder than a whisper, but it silenced Sasori just as efficiently. Pein was holding a map of the surrounding forest where the two artists had stayed.

"I trusted you with a mission, Sasori."

Hiruko didn't move. Neither did Deidara.

Pein slammed the map down on the table in front of him. "I expected you to finish it successfully. Maybe Deidara would still have some slip ups! He's been in Akatsuki for only a year. But not you Sasori! You've been here far longer!!" He yelled angrily.

Hidan snickered, and Deidara's eye slid from Pein to the religious man.

'Don't you dare' the look seemed to say. Hidan looked away quietly. "Deidara,"

Deidara nodded in the direction of Pein's voice. "I will also put some blame on you as well. I expect you both to make up five A rank missions. Understood?"

Deidara nodded and Pein left the room, obviously disappointed. When the Akatsuki leader was out of ear shot, Hidan turned to the blonde. "So, had a little trouble, did ya?" He snickered again. Deidara had noticeable bandages on his arm and side that showed though his opened cloak. He had additional bandages on his cheeks, and even had a slight limp. Sasori had found some damage on his Sandaime Kazekage puppet. Not to mention a broken joint on his leg. Not bad, but to Pein the mission's success was far more important.

"Hidan, shut up." Kakuzu said. His own pair of green eyes set on Hiruko's "Sasori, since leader is quite upset at you," Sasori swore he heard some form of smugness in his voice, "I'll take care of three missions out of the five he assigned you."

"In exchange for what?" Hiruko's gravelly voice asked.

"A switch of partners."

"Hell no." Sasori said, only meaning to keep the words inside his head, but too late.

"Why not? You and Deidara don't seem to get along. The same with me and Hidan here," Kakuzu motioned to the silver haired ninja, "A switch of partners would be best."

"I've already clearly declined, Kakuzu." Hiruko's hoarse voice cut the silence in the room

"Very well. Come freak." Kakuzu said, motioning for Hidan to follow. "It's Hidan you Jashin damned bast-" the door shut before anything else was heard. They were left alone. Deidara turned to Sasori and smiled.

"Thanks Danna, hm."

"Whatever brat."

Deidara watched Sasori leave in Hiruko and followed. He kept it up until he was at the door of their shared room. "Deidara leave me alone."

"Is that a threat, hm?"

"It's an order."

Deidara shrugged his cloak off and put on his long sleeve top. He placed an armband with the Akatsuki cloud on his left room and went to leave the room. As the blonde grabbed the doorknob he paused and said, "Sasori... Thank you for saving me on the mission, hm." Deidara did not turning back or wait for a reply.

On the way from his room, the blonde met Konan. Not one said hello to each other, mostly because the blue haired Akatsuki member was not very sociable. Deidara made his way down a few metallic flights of stairs and left the building through the back entrance. He was met with an alley filled with various pipelines. He followed the alley and was sent into the streets of Amegakure. The place was buzzing with activity. Groups of people going into shops and buying things and others simply enjoying the day and sitting around. With Kakuzu's money, they were able to turn the sad town of Amegakure into a prosperous place. It was the exact opposite of the Mist village.

As Deidara walked the streets he kept a bored expression, however his presence caused a sort of tremor. The people stopped and stared. Some even bowed at the blonde. The people of Amegakure just thought Pein was one big God. This classified the Akatsuki members as God's right hand men. With the exception of Konan. She was dubbed "God's Angel." It was actually quite fitting. Deidara was starting to hear the whispers. "It's one of Pein's men." or "It's him!" Deidara liked the attention actually.

"Hmm... I'm in the mood for ice cream." He told himself looking around. He stopped abruptly, listening to the hushed whispers of "God's Scorpion!"

Deidara turned to see a red haired boy walking towards him. The sun caught his eyes perfectly so that they gave off a seductive sparkle. He wore a black shirt with a white outlined scorpion.

Deidara smiled. He beckoned the boy to him, and Sasori wrapped his arms protectively around the blonde haired ninja. "So my little scorpling is all done moping around, hmmm?" Deidara asked.

"Why mope? Pein won't be mad at me for long. I'm his favorite protégé."

The blonde smirked at Sasori's ego and held the red head's waist tighter. They both didn't mind the looks they got. It's not like they would've been scolded or laughed at.

The Akatsuki partners walked through the village with Deidara holding onto Sasori's arm like a child. "'C'mon Danna, hm." Deidara said, pulling playfully on Sasori's arm. "Ow! Not too hard brat!" Sasori said pulling out of Deidara's grasp.

"Oh so you're using your human body, hm? I thought for sure you'd get rid of it, hm." Deidara said curiously, taking Sasori's hand again.

"Well it has its... advantages."

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It was close to sunset and Deidara held onto his vanilla cone happily. He licked the edge, watching Sasori from the corner of his eye. The red head was holding onto Deidara's hand watching the sky absently. "Let's head back Deidara-kun. Pein shouldn't be too mad now. I'm sure we can get him to give us a free day." Sasori said.

"I haven't finished yet, hm." Deidara said, sitting on a bench and bringing Sasori to sit down next to him.

"Lemme help you then."

Deidara was about to ask how when Sasori took a quick lick at some ice cream at Deidara's bottom lip. "Very cute." Deidara said sarcastically, running his own tongue over his lip. Sasori gave off the same charming smile the red head used when he wanted to flirt. "That's not going to work on me, hm." Deidara said throwing his ice cream into a trash can. He stood and dusted off his clothes. "Let's go, hmmm."

Sasori walked close to the blonde on the way back. The place where they usually stayed after or before a mission was the Akatsuki headquarters. It was a large building. Each floor (There was about nine) was for an Akatsuki pair. The first floor, however, had nothing but a lobby. This was where missions were taken in. Certain people of Amegakure were hired by Pein to verse that floor. The extra 3 floors on the top belonged to Pein. No member was allowed there. Ever.

Sasori was still walking close to his blonde lover when they made their up the steps to their floor. Each floor held five rooms. Two for each member and one room they had to share. It was usually the bedroom, which was Sasori and Deidara's case.

"Sasori. Deidara."

Both turned to see Pein and Konan.

"Yes leader-Sama?" Sasori asked quickly.

"About your mission," Konan started slowly.

"I've decided to give you only two A rank missions and one D rank. All other Akatsuki members have a mission this week. Because of the biju's known location, I've sent the group Itachi and Hidan. Kakuzu and Kisame will do an assassination in Konoha. Until one gets back, you will have to stay here." Pein finished.

In other words, a whole free week. Or two if the artists were lucky.

"Of course Leader-Sama and Konan-Sama." Sasori said respectfully.

Both the orange haired man and his blue haired partner turned to leave. "Oh and Sasori-San." Pein called over his shoulder.

"Yes Leader-Sama?" Sasori called out politely.

"Understand that your previous carelessness is not fully forgiven."

"Of course Leader-Sama..."

* * *

I'm not sure when Hidan joined Akatsuki, but in this story he joined a month prior to this chapter.  
I felt a little bad calling him a freak. ;; But... Deep down Kakuzu loves him.  
Deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep down.

Review if you can, please. :o)


	8. Chapter 8

FLUFF BUNNIES ARE _SLOWLY_ INVADING MY MIND...  
Thank you again to all my reviewers/readers. :)

* * *

Sasori looked to the side to see Deidara wrapped in an array of blankets. The blonde was snuggled cutely against one of Sasori's own pillows. Their first week of 'vacation' was going quite well. Most of their time was spent walking the streets making sure everything was in order, and simply being together.

There was a sigh and Deidara opened one eye to see Sasori looking at him.

"What, hm?" He said sleepily.

"You look cute." Sasori said, smirking with one hand under his chin. Deidara laughed.

"Shut up and go finish a puppet or something, hm."

"I would, but I'm so good at that, I have nothing to improve on them."

Deidara opened his eye again to look at Sasori. "Cocky, aren't you, hmm?"

"Look who's talking brat."

They both stared at each other, as an awkward silence formed.

Until a knock at the door was heard.

Both artists turned to see Kakuzu and Hidan standing in the doorway. "Sasori." Kakuzu said surprise obvious in his voice. "Getting along with Deidara now?"

Sasori shook his head, giving Kakuzu his usual bored expression.

"It won't last for long. I guarantee that, Kakuzu-san." Sasori said turning back to his desk. Never had Kakuzu really seen Sasori out of Hiruko. Kakuzu had to admit, Sasori looked much more... mild (for lack of a better word) than he had expected. The stitched nin shrugged and kept on, his matter-of-fact voice ringing in the silence.

"Leader says tomorrow morning he wants to talk to you, privately. As for Deidara, Pein asked me to tell you that tomorrow morning you are to patrol the area at the usual 3 A.M and 5 P.M. Zetsu is supposed to work from there into the night. "

Deidara nodded, but not before Sasori asked out, "What did Leader want to talk about exactly, Kakuzu-san?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't know either Sasori-san."

"Well thank you for the information." Sasori said, still not turning around to face the other Akatsuki members.

Kakuzu gave Sasori one last look before nodding and leaving the room. Hidan however, found one more joke couldn't hurt.

"Y'know, it's almost like you're both a fucking couple."

The silver haired Akatsuki member took his leave and Deidara huffed as his glare was unable to be seen by the religious man. "Kami, I hate that guy." Deidara muttered, curling up even more on the puppeteer's bed. Sasori closed the door to their room and then went back to sitting at his desk. The puppeteer had numerous small bottles of poison before. Each was a different color, and yet some had a multicolor effect to them.

"What exactly are you doing, hmm?" Deidara asked. Sasori shook a small bottle of green liquid and placed it down.

"Just writing some notes on these poisons... I couldn't do it earlier since Leader-sama sent us on that Mist village mission."

Deidara nodded and closed his eyes. His nose was against the puppeteer's pillow. It smelled exactly like Sasori, and the blonde was content at that.

"Sasori-no-Danna, hm?" Deidara said, trying to get his partner's attention. Sasori turned to look at his partner, and the blonde was suddenly sitting up in bed. "Can you spar with me, hmmm?" Sasori eyed the blonde and shook his head. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm a little busy." Sasori waved a bottle poison in front of Deidara, letting the liquid make a splashing sound before setting it down. Deidara scowled, making his way to the puppet master's desk. "It looks like a rainbow, hmm." Deidara said, nibbling on his thumb as he watched Sasori open a bottle of blue colored poison.

"It's not a rainbow, and dealing with these isn't a game."

Deidara shrugged wrapping his arms around the ex Suna nin's neck. "Are you sure you don't want to spend time with me, hmm?" Deidara whispered in Sasori's ear. The red head froze completely.

In a bad way.

Deidara let go of the puppeteer, noticing the reaction. Sasori turned, his eyes narrowed. "Don't do that again." He said, and returned to writing in a notebook. Deidara took a seat next to Sasori and simply watched the puppeteer mix and match the poisons. Some bubbled, some changed colors. Others were neutral, and one even gave off an alarming amount of smoke. But Sasori handled them easily, as though he had been doing it all his life.

Well… That was actually true.

Deidara sat on the edge of Sasori's bed again. The blonde was suddenly bored of watching his partner and without a word, went off to the training room.

Sasori thought about following Deidara, but he just kept to studying the poison's physical properties. He picked up a yellow one, and noticed how it reminded him of a certain blonde haired and blue eyed teen.

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Just when Sasori was starting to believe there as an actual God who loved him very dearly, the next day, he had another mission waiting for him.

Oh joy.

"It's a mission for both of you." Pein explained to Sasori. The red head was within Hiruko, and Deidara was out checking on the village.

"Yes Leader-Sama." Hiruko's voice muttered out.

"His name is Kentaro Daiza. He was a former partner of Deidara, during his terrorism days."

Sasori, within Hiruko, widened his eyes. Another partner..? Of Deidara's?

"All right." Sasori said, trying to sound uninterested as usual.

"The man usually hangs out around clubs, but he has a meeting in three days at a club called "Sakura Blood." It's specifically… for prostituting purposes."

Sasori raised an eyebrow.

"Therefore, one of you is going to have to do the job of infiltrating the club."

Sasori hugged his knees to his chest and thought about it. One of them, in other words, would have to dress in slutty clothes to get this dude's attention.

"Yes leader-Sama." Sasori responded.

"Here is a picture of him. With your photographic memory I'm sure you'll remember him." Pein held up a picture of Kentaro and Sasori scowled. He looked like some other idiot they'd just have to assassinate. "I understand Leader-sama." Sasori said, turning Hiruko to leave.

"And Sasori-kun."

Sasori turned quickly, surprised by Pein's suffix. The Akatsuki leader's words seemed spun of silk, yet they held a deadly tone.

"Mess up and there** will** be consequences."

* * *

NO PEIN! DON'T HURT SASO! D: DEI NEEDS HIM FOR THE NEXT MISHUUUUUUUN!  
… No, of course NOT! I didn't just give away a hint/spoiler.

Review, please and thank you!


	9. Chapter 9

To clarify, Sasori and Deidara are in an inn near the club they must infiltrate. I didn't write the whole, traveling scene because…. Well just because. .. . (Is also extremely sorry for extremely late update) But _thank you_ to my reviewers. :3  
OH and.. You know that "Adult themes" warning I put in the beginning?** That comes into play in this chapter**_**.  
**_You can begin your reading…. Now!

* * *

"Remind me why I'm wearing this again?"

Deidara looked from his room to Sasori's and saw the puppeteer in the attire he had picked out for the mission. Both had reserved two rooms at the inn for more space. The two rooms connected which was a useful (and very cool) aspect. Deidara bit his lip, unsure if he should laugh now or later. He then bit the inside of his cheek and tried to keep his voice steady.

"Well Danna, hmm. You have to pose as a fourteen year old with… I don't know, a sad pitiful life so we can get the attention of Kentaro Daiza, hm. You're the one wearing the slutty shirt because we need to blend into the crowd, and you're the one distracting Kentaro. And if I'm the one who has to distract him, he might remember me from the times I've worked with him before entering Akatsuki, hmm."

Sasori growled angrily looking down at himself for the millionth time. Deidara had the idea to make Sasori wear a black shirt. It was made of vinyl, which made it shine a little. What disgusted Sasori the most was the fact that it was cropped and reached way above his belly button. It was also tight to the point where Sasori found it uncomfortable.

Another reason to dislike the mission was the fact Sasori had to go and place his heart container in the human body he had refined. What exactly had he refined? He could now taste and his stamina was the same as a normal human's. But Sasori was more prone to getting cold with the skirt he had on.

Yes. A skirt.

Maybe, just _maybe__,_ Sasori would have felt better if it was a kilt, but no. It was a skirt. A women's skirt. That reached a little above mid-thigh.

And it was also made of vinyl.

But Sasori could care less if it shined like an annoying Disco ball. Deidara looked at the angry scowl on his partner's face as Sasori looked at himself again. Deidara walked over to his partner and gave him an assuring pat on the back. "I think you look cute, Sasori-No-Danna, hmm."

Sasori growled again and pushed Deidara away. He sat on the bed with a hand to his forehead. The red head took a deep breath and exhaled, trying hard not to just lash out at the blonde. Deidara deserved better. A few minutes of meditating gave the puppeteer a calmer look at the situation.

They had to do this, unless both artists wanted Pein to be furious with them. And when Pein was furious, everyone knew you just earned yourself a one way ticket to hell. Sasori looked up at Deidara and gave him the same bored expression he always wore. Deidara, not convinced, sat next to the puppeteer.

"Look, all we have to do is look for Kentaro, hmm. Pein already gave us information on what he looks like and where he hangs out. All we have to do is find him and eliminate him, hmm. I promise, it'll go well. "

Sasori played with the end of the skirt. The faster the mission was done, the sooner he could wear his normal clothes and puppet body. "Whatever... Are you ready?" Sasori asked. Deidara stood before the red head with a shirt that ended at the blonde's belly button. He wore vinyl pants and a leather jacket. The blonde added black framed glasses and a hat. "Do I look cool, hmm?" Deidara asked. Sasori shook his head. "No. Not really." Deidara rolled his eyes at his master's words and said teasingly, "Question is, are you ready, hmm?"

Sasori shrugged, realizing that he _had_ to be the saner of the two.

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The second they entered the club, music blasted at them full force, and the dim lights seemed to add to the ongoing chaos. Deidara stayed close to Sasori, suddenly very protective. There were booths filled with a number of characters, although it was easy to say Sasori or Deidara could easily take them out. The room was huge, but it was easy to spot their target.

Kentaro Daiza: A man in his mid thirties that refused to pay Akatsuki after a completed mission at his request. The new price: Death. However, Deidara had known the man before. They had done some work, and were more rivals than friends. The blonde ducked next to a booth, bringing Sasori down with him.

"Found him?" Sasori asked over the noise. Deidara nodded and pointed a man with a purple suit and an out of place green tie. His hair was spiked in one direction and his eyes were narrow with a sneaky look to them. He was quite tall and around him sat an array of young looking boys and girls. Sasori looked at Deidara questioningly.

"He's a pedophile in his mid thirties just hanging out with _whatever _pretty teens he can get, hmm." Deidara stated. Sasori felt his heart stop at the words. Deidara was a teen… wasn't he? And Sasori was… around thirty-four… right…?

The puppeteer tried to pull his cropped shirt down, now suddenly feeling very vulnrable. Deidara noticed the red head's discomfort and kissed the top of his head gently. "Come on, Danna. Getting cold feet, hmm?"

Sasori swallowed finally noticing the seductive looks he was getting. From every single person that passed him. The look in their eyes made Sasori shrink back a little. "How about we just get this over with?" Sasori said amongst the noise.

"Nothing will go wrong. Just walk down there, hm. If I see he's not going to fall for your act, I'll move in, hmm." Deidara said. But Sasori paid little attention, and looked around, noting how ninety eight percent of the people there had outfits ten times as worse than Sasori's. And by worse, Sasori meant revealing.

"I'll hide my chakra and stay close to you, hmm. I'll check the back alley and see if anyone is there. That green door leads to the alley, okay?" Deidara said, pointing to a door a few feet from where they were standing. Deidara gave one last look to Sasori and asked him gently, whispering in his ear, "I'll make sure it goes smoothly."

Sasori's mind stopped working and he only nodded absently. Deidara pushed him into the crowd, where the red head was soon staring down the very person he was supposed to assassinate. Kentaro Daiza's eyes immediately fell upon the intruder and he smirked. "Well Well…" The man said, his voice was cocky and slurred from what Sasori could tell was intoxication. "What's your name precious?" He asked.

The group around the man stopped their activities and eyed Sasori, impressed at what they saw; A fragile looking boy with an angelic face. Not to mention his dark, long lashes face and mass of perfect, soft looking maroon hair. He was like a dream. But everyone in the group had a sort of dirty dream in mind…

"I'm Sa-Sato." Sasori said, putting his thumb against his lips cutely. He cursed himself for almost forgetting his alias for this mission. Kentaro smirked, mistaking Sasori's stuttering for shyness, and motioned to a seat next to him.

Sasori obeyed and was placed between the man and a certain beautiful brunette. "I'm Kentaro little guy." He purred. Sasori could feel the heat rise dramatically the closer he sat next to either. He looked though the crowd and found Deidara casually leaning behind a pole. Sasori concentrated back on the conversation with Kentaro. "So, where are your parents little boy?"

Little boy?!

Sasori almost punched him.

_Almost._

"They're… They're dead." The puppet master answered truthfully. Kentaro frowned and shook his head. "No one to take care of you, hm?"

Sasori didn't like the idea of someone else using Deidara's speech impediment.

"Nuh-uh. I just wander through the villages… and some people are nice but other s are mean." Sasori explained, keeping his voice on a quivering tone to hide the true deepness to his normal speech.

"How old are you?"

"I-I'm fourteen."

Kentaro tapped the side of his cheek, thinking. His eyes brightened, and it reminded Sasori of a villain in a book he had read once. Something about a little girl and a wolf in the forest…?

"Would you like… some sweets, hm, Sato?" Kentaro asked sweetly a few moments later.

_Oh Kami_. Not sweets.

Sweets were Sasori's childhood drug.

The ex Suna nin nodded enthusiastically, his thumb still against his lips. Kentaro smirked and asked a passing waitress for a chocolate cake. With strawberries. And whipped cream. And lots of chocolate chip pieces.

And Sasori could tell some sort of drug would be placed in it. It was a tantalizing sounding treat, but Sasori was more focused on the mission. And getting away from the pedophile he was currently sitting next to. Then again, Sasori was older than him. But the puppeteer was pretty useless in this human body.

Sasori found Deidara again, and gave him "the look". The same look people usually saw when they were about to be turned into puppets. Deidara, in turn, gave his boyfriend an apologetic smile before winking and disappearing off into the crowd. Sasori bit his lip. He hated his role in the mission so Jashin damned much.' Brat you better hurry', Sasori thought to himself angrily.

"Are you all right little guy?"

The red head's thoughts were interrupted by Kentaro once again

"Um, why are you being so nice to me?" Sasori asked weakly. That ought to buy Deidara some time.

Kentaro laughed and it sounded like a boom. Not at all like Deidara's beautiful, bell-like laughter.

"You're just so cute. I can't believe someone hasn't even thought of taking you in as their own. I'll make you a deal. If you come home with me... I'll allow you to stay with me forever."

Sasori hid his scowl. The thought was not appealing. AT ALL.

"Would you really…?" Sasori said, eyes widening dramatically.

"Of course. I'll make it a memorable stay." Kentaro winked and Sasori simply looked away.

For once, Sasori took note of the other teens. They were all obviously heavily dosed with what Sasori could tell were aphrodisiacs. The girls were all sitting on the tables as well as talking in suggestive manners. The boys themselves were beginning to turn up shirtless with hungry looks in their eye. But what made Sasori shrink back into the booth was the way they looked at _him_.

Yes, Sasori was attractive, but the group made no effort in hiding their thoughts. "My, my, what a gorgeous looking boy you have here Kentaro," The brunette next to Sasori said. "I wonder if he's as innocent as he seems." The girls in the group now especially clung to Sasori, constantly petting him and laying their head on his shoulder. But Sasori effectively shook them off with a few angry looks.

And Deidara could only watch as he stood just a couple of feet away from him. But Deidara's eyes were set on Kentaro. He hadn't known him for long when they were working together, but Deidara could feel the malice radiating off of him. And it was all handy dandy at the idea that his Sasori was _right next to him_.

Deidara was still using as little chakra as possible to attract as little attention as possible. He finally made his way to the back alley through the green door. "Just hang on a little longer Danna." Deidara murmured to himself, making sure the back alley behind the building was empty. It was, and not one door or window in sight. Deidara reentered the club unnoticed and continued keeping an eye on Sasori, until their eyes met again. Deidara nodded, and Sasori gave him a thankful gaze. Now all they had to do was lure him into the alley.

"Um… K-Kentaro." Sasori said the cake in front of him. He hadn't touched the sweet yet.

"What's the matter, Sato? I thought you said you liked _sweets_."

The man took a big gulp of his drink and Sasori responded, "Could you come with me somewhere?"

Kentaro, with other ideas on his mind, smirked as he told the group to stay where they were. But they would all forget the night's events the next day. Deidara and Sasori were smart to plant a small poison in each drink. It wasn't enough to kill, but one tablespoon could send you into a horrible amnesia.

Sasori led the taller man through the crowd and opened the door to the back room quietly. Sasori hadn't seen Deidara, so the red head could only hope the blonde was indeed in the alley. "So Ke-" Sasori said after the door closed behind them, but was cut off when Kentaro grabbed him by the front of his shirt and lifted Sasori off the ground with no effort. "Hey let-Let me go!" Sasori said, struggling to fight the sudden suffocation. Kentaro laughed and pinned Sasori against the alley wall. "Sorry kid, but from now on your my property." He whispered. His breath smelled of cigarette and beer.

It was Sasori's time to smirk and he let out a cold, soft laugh. The man's eyes widened as he felt a kunai being driven into his back. He turned and his grip on the puppet master lessened. Sasori jumped down, and landed a quick kick to Kentaro's face. The man fell flat on his back confusion in his eyes. Deidara appeared from the shadows, a kunai in his hand. Deidara smiled sadistically saying in a sickeningly sweet voice, "Miss seeing me, Kentaro, hmmm?"

The blonde let a foot rest on the other's chest however, one hand was now noticeably behind the bomber's back.

"But-B-but-… How Could-?!"

Deidara placd a finger to his lip and revealed a rather sharp katana from his other hand.

"I'm going to take me time with you, hmmm."

Kentaro stared in confusion, trying to understand the scene before him.

"Deidara! I-I heard you were in Akatsuki! And that kid- H-He's your-"

"Oh so you've heard of my new whereabouts?" Deidara cut in. The sword seemed to collect the entire light in the small alley and it shined with more brilliance. A deadly weapon with a pretty look. Deidara continued without a response from his old associate.

"Well, either way, I've been asked to get rid of you, hm. I think it seems fitting if I added my own sort of torture for you even trying to hurt **my** scorpling, hmm."

The crimson haired puppeteer stood by Deidara, wanting to see what sort of death the blonde would sentence Kentaro to. Sasori found Deidara rather attractive when his sadistic side came into play.

"S-Scorpling?" He asked weakly. Deidara smiled, placing the tip of the sword in front of the black haired man's right eye. "I think Akasuna no Sasori isn't very amused at your actions either, Kentaro-san."

Kentaro opened his mouth to say something as his eyes widened in sudden realization, but Deidara had already started to dive the sword in Kentaro's eye. And the pained shreak Deidara earned fueled the blonde. Deidara placed his foot in the other's mouth and watched his old companion shudder.

Kentaro's body was overcome by intolerable pain. Deidara ignored the tears streaming down Kentaro's tormented face, and drove the sword into Kentaro's side. Still, the blonde kept Kentaro alive. He was completely serious about torturing him to death.

However Sasori grabbed the katana gently from Deidara's hands, asking to hold it. Deidara gave the sword to Sasori and the red head gave Kentaro a cold gaze. "Here's for calling me a little boy." Sasori whispered and he drove the sword through the man's head. The body stopped all movement and the one unharmed eye was beginning to glaze over. Sasori pulled the sword out, using Kentaro's tie to clean the weapon.

"So violent, aren't we, hmmm?"

Sasori turned and smiled at his partner. "I want to go back to the inn brat. I've had enough of prostitutes and pedophiles… and skirts for that matter."

The blonde laughed and nodded. However, Deidara gave one final kick to the body, then pulled off his coat and placed it around the red head. "Don't push your luck brat." Sasori whispered moodily. Deidara kept walking next to the red head, hands in his pockets. He smiled when he saw Sasori pull the coat closer to his body.

Deidara took it as a sort of thank you.

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A few colons in this chapter. Just wanted to give myself some practice on the use of colons.  
Putting that aside, go tell me how much enjoyment this chapter has given you in a review. c: Pretty please.


	10. Chapter 10

Double chapter update. :D OH LOLZ.  
(_**WARNING**_: THIS CHAPTER IS FILLED WITH MORE OOC-NESS THAN USUAL AND FLUFF.)  
Darn those sneaky little fluff bunnies. D:

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Sasori groaned, his eyes fluttering open. The blue comforter around him created a warm sanctuary and he snuggled deeper into the bed. He lay there for a few moments before throwing the covers off of him and sitting up hurriedly. His deep brown eyes looked over to the clock on the wall of the inn. It read 9:25 P.M and Sasori looked over the room. Deidara's bed wasn't made, yet the blonde wasn't in it. Sasori looked back at his own bed and found it empty. He looked around again, this time getting off the bed and searching in the other room. Nothing. But all the bags and supplies they brought were still there. Sasori shook his head, deciding to take a shower first.

Deidara stretched, his hair curling around him as the wind blew harder. He had quietly crept out of bed while his partner was asleep. The reason? The inn was quite high, and from the rooftop, Deidra could spot the club alley where they had murdered Kentaro. Anbu were around the scene, and Deidara watched them scatter like ants.

Deidara found the Anbu of every village amusing. They hid behind their masks, and the same went for their title. But in reality, they could be easily tricked by, say, a couple of mastermind artists. The blue eyed Akatuski member snickered and left the roof top to go down the stairs and back to his room.

When he opened the door, he watched as clothes were thrown across the room. He found it odd and looked to see Sasori kneeling near a pile of clothes. Every few seconds or so, the red head would throw a pair of shorts or pants and some shirts maybe, across the room.

"What's with this, hmm?" Deidara asked, leaning against the door frame and catching a shirt Sasori had thrown behind his back. The blonde laughed as he realized the shirt was the same he had worn yesterday on the mission.

"I'm getting rid of every article of clothing we've brought along for our missions so far."

Deidara realized the red head's hair was slightly wet, and it clung to the side of his face almost desperately. "Will Kakuzu give us money for a new set of mission clothes, hmm?" Deidara asked.

Sasori shrugged, explaining that they were to leave the inn early to pick up a message for Pein. Deidara was suddenly reminded that he should take a shower and left to the bathroom without a word.

Sasori stayed kneeling at the pile of clothes, and only when he was left with their Akatsuki cloaks was the puppeteer satisfied. Everything else was put in a bag that both Akatsuki partners would later dispose of. Sasori sat on the floor in a small corner, his knees up to his chest, and let his head fall back against the wall. He listened to the water run from Deidara's bath and he closed his eyes.

At first he tried to relax, but certain images of a blonde teen in the shower invaded his child-like mind. His eyes snapped open and he stood up, trying to forget the perverted images. Sasori looked out the room's window from where he was standing. It was funny how the sunshine only brought to mind Deidara's silky, yellow hair. And speak of the devil, since Deidara came into the room, now fully dressed in his navy tank top and pants.

"Something wrong, hmm?"

Sasori tore his eyes away from the window, only to see Deidara a couple of centimeters away from him. "N-No. Pack your things. We're leaving in half an hour, brat."

Sasori avoided bumping noses with Deidara, but soon realized he was still against the corner of the room. Deidara had trapped him! Sasori sighed, now being forced to face the blonde. "Something is wrong, hmm." Deidara announced, as though he had discovered an important clue to a mystery. Sasori scratched back of his head gently and put his hand in the pocket of his pants. "Deidara… There's nothing wrong. Now go get ready. We have a message to pick up for Pein in a nearby town, remember?"

Deidara watched Sasori, and nodded. Sasori looked away, his head slightly tilted to one side.

"But Danna-"

"Brat, what?!"

Deidara looked over the red head and shook his head. "There's something bothering you."

Sasori suddenly felt like a bug under a microscope. It was complicated to tell Deidara just what he was feeling. He could've gone and told the blonde, "Every single thing in this fucking world seems to only serve the purpose of reminding me of you." But Sasori's mind went blank.

"We'll talk later." He said simply.

Deidara looked disappointed at the red head. "It'd be easier if we talked now, hmm."

Sasori looked away, light colored eyes showing no emotion.

"You do realize I'm the same age as Kentaro, right?" Sasori asked, eyes inquisitively looking into Deidara's own.

"And, hm?"

Sasori looked up at Deidara after the words left the blonde's mouth. "Do you?" The red head questioned. Deidara was taken aback by his partner's attitude. Was the red head…. nervous?

Deidara smirked. "If I can still love you in Hiruko, I think I can love you any other way." Sasori looked away from the blonde as Deidara went to pack his things. The puppet master still stood against the corner, almost awkwardly. The silence gave Sasori some time to think.

Deidara was old enough to make choices. If the blonde truly loved Sasori he wouldn't mind the age difference. Sasori left it at that and refocused on the task at hand. When Deidara had packed his things, Sasori had gone to the door and looked back at the room. Nothing suspicious was left behind.

The ninja known as Sasori and Deidara would disappear from the village just as quickly as they came.

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It was late, and they were both tired. One from mental exhaustion, the other from physical exhaustion.

And they were near Sunagakure.

Sasori kept Hiruko walking in Deidara's shadow, and the blonde mused that Sasori was using him as a shield against the puppeteer's birthplace. However, near them was a promise of a sandstorm. And Sasori wasn't all too happy about stopping near Suna, so Deidara had to keep walking until they reached their real destination. But the sunset added to their hurry and there wasn't anywhere they could stop and stay hidden. The only thing that surrounded them was sand.

"Sasori-no-Danna?" Deidara called over the wind.

"What is it brat?" Sasori asked. Deidara shielded his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. "Can't we stop somewhere for a little, hmm? Please?"

Sasori thought about how tired Deidara must have been by now. It wasn't a smart idea to travel with a useless partner. But Hiruko could fit one more person, right?

Sasori thought against it. Hiruko was his only sanctuary, his shield. Sasori loved Deidaradearly, but the red head had his limits to personal things.

"Relax brat. Just another mile and we'll be at the town we need to pick up the message. While we're there, we'll find an inn."

Deidara scowled and cried angrily, "But Sunagakure is right there, hmm! Why can't we just stop by, hm? No one will noti-" Deidara was faced with the tip of Hiruko's metallic tail. Poison dripped from the tip, but Deidara made no move.

"I'm right here. Go ahead, hm."

The tail slashed through the side of Deidara's Akatsuki cloak. It barely missed his neck. Just barely. Deidara through off the cloak, not knowing what poison Sasori had. By the time Deidara looked up, Sasori was a few feet ahead of him.

"Kami, that guy needs to control his damn mood swings." The boy muttered, draping his Akatsuki cloak over his shoulder. It flowed madly in the wind now, and each step Deidra took was getting more and more tiresome. When Deidara was at his last drop of patience, he yelled out, "It's been two miles! Where the hell is this town, hmm?!"

Sasori paid no attention to Deidara and simply kept walking. Deidara was growing impatient of Sasori. No matter how cute and cuddly the puppet master was outside of Hiruko, it almost never made up for the times when Sasori was being the annoying, controlling bastard he was right now.

"Saso-" Deidara paused, starting to see a large shadow appear before them. Was it the village….? Deidara hurried to his partner's side and awed at the shadow. It was quite tall, but not as tall as the statue used to seal the biju. That was the tallest thing the blonde had ever seen.

"I'll do the talking, understand?"

Deidara nodded kept his Akatsuki cloak around him and decided he would keep it there unless told otherwise. The town had a pair of yellow gates with an unreadable kanji in front of it. Deidara kept up with Sasori and once they were near the door, the gates opened. "Why are they so lenient with outsiders, hm? We have Akatsuki cloaks…" Deidara asked. Hiruko gave a slow laugh.

"It's because this is only a place for rogue ninja."

Deidara looked around quickly. It seemed normal enough. People in middle class clothing just walking or talking. It wasn't exactly crowded, but there were some people.

"Pick a direction, brat."

"Left." Deidara answered, not caring where they were going. He was curious to see what sort of rogue ninja were here. Were there more Akatsuki? Deidara followed Sasori into an inn, where they were given a room.

Not two rooms. _A_ room.

But Deidara wasn't complaining. It just meant another reason for Sasori to get out of that ugly dome. The second they entered their new room, Deidara shut the door and lay down on the bed. It was past midnight and the blonde was too tired to notice when Sasori had stepped out of Hiruko. "Are you really that tired?" Sasori asked, leaving his puppet on one side of the room.

Deidara groaned and threw off his Akatsuki cloak. He hadn't eaten anything in the whole day, but sleep was the blonde ninja's priority. Sasori watched Deidara and shook his head. "A year of this and you're still not used to it..?"

"Shut up, hm. You're in a puppet. You can walk ten hours straight, hm. I can't, hmm." was the blonde's muffled reply. Sasori sat on the floor near the window and from the bag on his shoulder, he removed two scrolls. Deidara heard the noise and cracked open an eye. Because Sasori was sitting, the only thing Deidara could see was the top half of the puppet master's head.

"Your hair looks pink now, hmm." Deidara said sleepily.

"It's a natural phenomenon Deidara. Let's leave it at that."

Deidara smirked and stood up from the bed. He crept near the puppeteer, until he could reach out and throw his arms around the red head's neck. This time Sasori responded with a little whimper of annoyance. Deidara smiled into the red locks and held his partner tighter.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?" Sasori asked. Deidara shook his head and kneeled down next to the puppeteer. "Watching you is more fun Danna, hmm."

Sasori stayed emotionless as he opened the scrolls. Out came a puppet roughly the same size as his hand. Deidara went to poke the wooden thing when it abruptly stood and slapped Deidara's hand away from it.

"Looks lethal." Deidara said sarcastically.

"It's not made from human flesh. It's just a new design I wanted to try…" Sasori trailed off, examining the little puppet and his index finger twitched. The puppet took one step forward and fell flat on its face.

"New design, hmm? Why don't you stick to your old one." Deidara said, patting Sasori's shoulder. Sasori heard the blonde walk to the bed and lift the covers to go to sleep.

Sasori left only the desk light on, and listened to Deidara's steady breathing. When Sasori was sure the brat was asleep, he put away the puppet and climbed into his own bed. Not that he was tired, but he figured he could use some time to meditate or think. But the sound of the wind outside was all that filled Sasori's head. They had made it to an inn on time. The sandstorm was approaching quickly.

Sasori stayed awake, listening to the sounds of the sandstorm. When he was younger, he'd curl up in bed with the puppets he had made of his parents on nights like these.

But that was so long ago.

And ninjas didn't cuddle.

But Sasori's mind was flooded with childhood memories and he cursed himself. Only because he had fallen into the blonde's trap. Sasori put away the small puppet carelessly and crept into bed, slipping under the covers with his blonde partner. Deidara made no move, and smirked as he felt Sasori's body lean into him. Deidara waited before letting his arms encircle his partner.

"So, you got lonely, hmm?"

"Shut up brat. I'm this close to driving the coil in my stomach through your chest."

It was a bluff of course because the body Sasori had didn't contian any weapons. Deidara knew this of course and ignored the threat completely. The blonde smiled and pecked Sasori's lips in a soft kiss.

"I love you too Danna..."

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Don'tcha just love those endings that make you smile like an idiot from complete fangirl joy?  
In other news, Review please!


	11. Chapter 11

One more chapter left…! Therefore, I have made this chapter exceptionally long. It's the longest chapter in this story. C:  
Enjoy. (And if there are any grammatical mistakes in this chapter I am **so sorry**.)  
Before that though, THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU! to my readers and reviewers!!

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Sasori spent the night to what Deidara obsessors would call the absolute dream. Deidara's arms were wrapped around the puppeteer's small waist tightly and both were surrounded by several blankets. It was still much too early to get up, which made Sasori sigh as his eyes became half closed. Honestly, he hated waiting for Deidara to wake up. But he stayed there, just to relish the feel of being next to the blue eyed teen. The shorter boy turned over so that his back was against the others' chest. Deidara shifted a little, but his steady breathing told the puppeteer his partner was still sleep. Sasori lay there, listening to his partner's quiet breathing.

He let the moment of peace go, and left the bed with Deidara still fast asleep. Sasori didn't bother waking the blonde up as he left the room. Climbing up the stairs to the roof top, the grey eyed puppeteer wondered if Pein would mind the small rest both had gotten last night. "It's not like Pein specified when he had to retrieve the message…" He murmured.

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Sasori opened the door timidly and stepped out onto the roof top with nothing but pants and a sleeveless shirt. It wasn't cold at all. In fact, the air was warm. Any hint of the sandstorm last night was gone, and the sunrise was just beginning. Sasori watched the colors blend together. Every tint of yellow and red lit up the sky, with the sun acting as the ringleader.

The sky was just an empty canvas always being filled with brilliant, vibrant colors. And those colors were eternal. The sun would forever be expected to rise and fall, and with it, those colors followed. And although Deidara bragged and boasted how anything eternal would soon grow boring, Sasori knew that the sky would be something no one could ever get bored of.

Perhaps a more human part of Sasori remembered how he would always watch the sunset, wondering if his parents were watching it too. And always, an eight year old Sasori hoped his parents would return. The young puppeteer used to have it all planned out. When his parents would return they would all watch the sunset as a real family. And they would be smiling and laughing. A picture perfect moment…

But it never happened.

Not that Sasori minded now, but he remembered being crushed when he finally realized his parents were dead. His bitch of a grandmother sure as hell hadn't told him. It was actually the Sandaime Kazekage that had told Sasori.

"_Sasori-chan, I'm sorry, but your parents are dead. They won't be coming back…" _

The red head pushed the memory back into the farthest reaches of his mind and realized that the sun was already up. He walked back to the room, giving the sun one last glance before closing the door to the roof top. The sun hadn't changed since Sasori was eight year old. It was eternal.

He just wished the memories he had of Sunagakure weren't.

\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o\/o

Deidara sat at the edge of the bed, the sun already up. The puppeteer had left the bed, presumably to get the message. But when the red head returned, the blonde was shocked with the red head's words.

"Danna, where were you, hmm?"

"Watching the sunrise."

Deidara raised an eyebrow as Sasori sat at the edge of the bed and stretched a little. "You should get ready. We're going to collect the message, see what it says, and most likely leave here back to Amegakure."

Deidara nodded at the red head's words and went to go get dressed. No doubt the message would have a mission for them both.

What Sasori and Deidara hadn't expected was to see a pair of familiar faces.

"Are you sure Pein said to pick up the message at this street?"

Sasori (in Hiruko) nodded at Deidara's words. "I suppose they have it."

Deidara followed Hiruko to meet the two standing at the very end of the street, clad in their Akatsuki robes.

"Oh hello Deidara, Sasori." Kakuzu greeted, with Hidan following up with a, "Hello, fuckers." Deidara scowled at the religious man and looked at Hiruko warily.

"Pein says we have a message to pick up… I assume you have it?" Sasori asked. Hidan nodded and shamelessly elbowed Kakuzu. "Hey Kakuzu, you have the scroll, right? C'mon Kuzu, don't be a bore and give it to 'em."

Kakuzu took out a gold and red scroll from his bag and glared at Hidan, whispering, "Do that again, and my fist will be the last thing you see, punk." "Try me you money obsessed asshole." was Hidan's cocky reply.

Deidara couldn't help but sense a little déjà vu, like he had seen a fight like that before.

Or been in one…

Deidara took the scroll from Kakuzu, thanking him politely. "Is there anything else Leader-Sama wants us to know?" Deidara asked.

"No. That jackass Pein told us to give you the scroll, and go escort some guy to-"

Kakuzu elbowed Hidan harshly, and Hidan growled, holding his side. "Jashin-damned bastard… seme-asshole…. Stupid…." He muttered, although Deidara was able to catch a few phrases. "Don't mind him. He's actually quite insane." Kakuzu said calmly. "Leader-Sama told us that giving you the scroll was all we needed do. I expect the scroll to give you more information."

Deidara bowed before the two before following Hiruko back to the hotel. "Are we going to recheck into the hotel, hmm?" The blonde asked his partner.

"No, no. We'll read the scroll here. I just want to get rid of Hiruko…"

Deidara followed the puppet to an alley, where the back of the puppet's shell suddenly popped up. Out came the real Sasori, now in his puppet body. "Every time you're in your puppet body you never cease to freak me out, hm." Deidara said, handing Sasori the scroll as he eyed the line on puppeteer's neck. It was obviously there to allow Sasori the removal of his head from his neck.

"Whatever." Sasori replied, unrolling the scroll, smirking as he did so. "What's so funny, hmm?" Deidara asked. "Isn't it obvious those two _don't_ hate each other?" Sasori snickered. Deidara remembered the few words he had caught in Hidan's muttering. "Hidan did say something about a seme…" Deidara stopped himself before the mental image took place. "That is just wrong, hmm." Deidara groaned.

Sasori was still smiling as he looked around for anyone that might have been nosy enough to follow them. "Well I'm sure they'd think the same about us, hmm, Deidara?" The blonde rolled his eyes at Sasori's words. "But… Hidan's a masochist… which means Kakuzu is a sadist…Ugh that is so nasty, hmm." Deidara said, shaking his head.

"Well if they want to be kinky, it's there problem. Now let me read the scroll brat." Sasori said. But Deidara couldn't help but exclaim one more thing.

"Y'know now that I realize it, we use your stomach cable for kinkier things, hmm. "

The shorter boy sweat dropped, ignoring his partner's words completely. Sasori held up the gold scroll carefully, with the blonde reading over his shoulder.

--

_Deidara, Sasori:_

_I am sure you have already met with Hidan and Kakuzu. With the completion of the assassination of Kentaro Daiza, I would like to congratulate you. This message was originally supposed to send you on an escort mission, but I have sent Kakuzu and Hidan to do that. I would like for you to return to the base and help with things here, as I have just sent Zetsu (with his new subordinate Tobi) to retrieve an item for me in Kirigakure. However, a warning to you both: Kakuzu's subordinates have informed us that Orochimaru has been seen around Suna. I advise you to be cautious of any route you take. I will be expecting you back here in four days._

_**Pein**_

**_--_**

"… Danna-" Deidara started, but was cut short when Sasori suddenly closed the scroll. The red head was quiet as he placed himself in Hiruko again, and started to walk off to the town's gates. Deidara decided against talking with Sasori. Any mention of Orochimaru made Sasori touchy. The last thing the blonde needed was an irritable puppeteer.

"We're taking the forest route Deidara. The opposite way we came. We'll be back in Amegakure in two days." Sasori said. Deidara did a double take replying quickly, "But a forest seems like a good place to hide for Orochi-"

"We're taking that route brat." Sasori cut in, quickly ending the conversation.

Deidara ignored his partner's mood and kept a close eye out for anything suspicious. It was going to be a long walk, and no doubt they would have to stop and rest. Well, Deidara would.

"Are you lost?" A voice called out. Deidara looked up farther to see an old man, with a greatly polished cane. Sasori paid no heed to him, and neither did Deidara.

"Rude pair, aren't you?" The old man said again, walking off toward the village. Hiruko suddenly stopped, giving the old man one last look before turning to face him.

"Who are you calling rude, old man?"

Deidara sighed. How could Sasori take his anger out on a frail senior citizen like this? The old man turned, his cane seeming to be the only thing keeping him from falling forward. "Well you two seem to be much ruder than I expec-"

Deidara growled and jumped in front of Sasori, throwing two shuriken at the man before reaching into his clay pouch. The male smiled warmly before dodging the shuriken perfectly. "Who are you?" Deidara growled dangerously, afraid of the answer he'd receive.

The blonde felt Hiruko's scorpion tail pull him back slightly as the puppet stood in front of Deidara. "I'll handle it." The gruff voice said. Deidara nodded, crouching in Hiruko's shadow, ready to form his clay if needed.

"I see you've added a shield to that old puppet." The voice of the old man changed in the sentence from rough to a silky, deadly sound. "Let's play, for old time's sake-" The man stopped, actually grabbing the skin on his face as though it were a mask and dragged it down. The skin was pulled out harshly revealing a ghostly white face with deadly yellow eyes, "Sasori!"

Said puppeteer was within Hiruko, eyes wide with rage. "How dare you show your face, you disgraceful bastard!" Sasori cried out. Deidara refused to move an inch, watching Orochimaru with careful eyes.

"Oh Sasori. It's been so long hasn't it? Still your same childish self?" Orochimaru asked, pulling off the old skin to reveal his own thin face. Under the guise he wore Akatsuki like attire. Deidara pushed away the nausea the pulling of the skin caused him and gave a hateful gaze to the black haired ninja.

"Oh, I see you've found a new partner? Well let's test him out then."

The Iwa nin snarled as he threw a small clay centipede to Orochimaru. "Art is a bang, hmm! Katsu!!" The centipede exploded, creating multicolor sparks. The hand holding Deidara's leg disappeared into dirt and Deidara stood back up.

"A bang… I see; such a different ideal from yourself, eh Sasori?"

The smoke cleared to reveal an unharmed Orochimaru. Deidara was less than pleased, crying out, "Art is a fleeting instant of beauty! The perfect moment when your eyes only see a glimpse of what true art is!" Deidara made more centipede-like clay figures, scattering them around the forest.

Each one went off with a harsh explosion, and yet they seemed to magically miss their target altogether. "Brat, what the hell?! Do you even know how to aim?" Sasori growled out. Deidara turned to look at Hiruko and back at Orochimaru. Between the two, the blonde couldn't tell who was more annoying.

"If you would come out of that stupid shell and just help me, I wouldn't have so much trouble!" Deidara whispered harshly. "I can't believe you can't handle this-" Was the muttered reply he received before a pop came from the bulky puppet and a shadowed figure emerged. Sasori summoned a puppet and Deidara could see the light blue chakra strings shimmer as they connected to the large hitokugutsu.

"I've never seen that one, hm." Deidara said as he kept a watchful eye on Orochimaru, not more than twenty feet away from them.

"It's a new one. Like the prototype I showed you yesterday night."

Deidara looked from Sasori, to the wooden puppet exclaiming, "Fuck! We're doomed!"

"Can it brat." Sasori said, narrowing his eyes and dragging the chakra strings to the side. The puppet followed, poison needles exploding from its large stomach, accompanied by flames.

"Hey that stupid puppet didn't do that last night!" Deidara said jokingly and added his own bird-like clay figures to Sasori's attack. Orochimaru scowled dodging each with grace, although he couldn't dodge them forever.

Sasori grew quicker with his attacks, noticing Orochimaru summon his own weapon: A long purple snake with wide, yellow eyes. Sasori smirked as the puppet prepared to launch more flames, but blew to pieces when Orochimaru's snake bit into it from the center (Its weakest point).

Sasori's eyes widened while the puppet fell to the ground in uncountable pieces. Deidara could sense his partner's daze and attacked Orochimaru directly. "Ugly ass bastard!" He cried, landing a good punch to the pale ninja's face. Orochimaru faltered, his summon leaving the battle in alarm.

"We're gonna kick your ass, hm." Deidara yelled with the red head at his side. Orochimaru raised an eyebrow as he stood. A cruel laugh accompanied his sweet smile. "You are quite the interesting boy." He commented. The blue eyed artist was about to shout something else when he stopped short, breath catching in his throat. His vision blurred slightly and he titled to the side a little only to catch himself before he fell.

"Deidara!"

Sasori's voice was only a whisper compared to the pulsing sound in his head. A throbbing ache over took his body and he clutched his temple weakly. "Agh."

The Sannin chuckled. "My snake is able to release toxins in the air. I suppose you may not be able to feel it, but it seems your partner is more… vulnerable to it."

Sasori grit his teeth as Deidara continued to groan from the ground. Once again, the blonde did nothing but hold him down. The blonde could only get to his knees before the pain fell to his legs. "Fuck." The Iwa nin cursed loudly. Sasori turned his attention away from Deidara to look to the pale ninja throwing multiple needles into the air.

Orochimaru aimed for Sasori, but Deidara jumped in front of the red haired puppeteer allowing the needles to pierce him mercilessly. It was more of an instinct than anything and Deidara didn't regret it. The blonde gasped as he collapsed while the needles in his stomach dug harder into him as they came in contact with the ground.

Orochimaru uncoiled his long tongue letting it to wrap around Deidara's neck. The blonde struggled for breath as the tongue squeezed tighter on his delicate throat. The pyromaniac had some experience with tongues (Namely the one on his chest and palms) but this was absolutely disgusting. Before the blonde could try to wiggle away he was thrown onto the ground.

Thankfully, but more painfully, most of the needles in the blonde's arms and stomach came off as he skidded across the ground. But by this time the poison was more than enough to leave him in a painful stupor. Sasori had to act quickly if he wanted to save his partner.

Sasori left his safe spot near Hiruko and scurried over to Deidara. Orochimaru sent his tongue for Sasori and pulled it back quickly as Hiruko's tail came close to striking the long tongue. Sasori left one arm free as the invisible chakra strings stayed attached to his puppet's tail and looked over Deidara quickly. "Brat, you are one hell of a partner." Sasori growled under his breath.

The poison master calculated his time accurately and cut a small opening on the container in his heart. He face scrunched up in pain, but he turned Deidara face up. Sasori captured the liquid between two fingers and allowed it to drop into Deidara's mouth.

"What.. the... hell." Deidara whispered a few drops later as he tasted the strange liquid. Sasori winced slightly. "The liquid in my heart container acts as blood and an antidote to severe poisons. It's perfect for you, brat. Don't worry."

Deidara found the 'Don't worry' part hard to follow but nonetheless he breathed in deeply, the pain in his head slightly subsiding. With Deidara safe from any poisoning Sasori had one more thing to deal with.

And that something was nowhere to be seen.

The red head looked left and right before being faced with a sword as he turned around. Sasori sat on the ground looking up at Orochimaru with wide grey eyes. "If I pierce through that container in your body, no doubt you'll fall dead, hmm Sasori-chan?" Orochimaru asked gently as he let the sword fall to the heart container on Sasori's chest.

The red head made no move as Orochimaru pressed the tip of the sword lightly against the puppet master's chest. The ex Suna nin could feel the pulse of his heart raise dramatically.

"Want to know what is far worse than being a coward Sasori-kun?"

Sasori closed his eyes as Orochimaru leaned in to whisper in the puppeteer's ear.

"A _loser_."

The yellow eyed ninja disappeared in a puff of smoke leaving the two alone in the forest. All was dead quite, save for the sound of heavy breathing coming from Deidara as the antidote took its affect. Sasori sat there on the floor, looking at the ground now. Honestly, Deidara felt like he was looking at a small child simply lost in the forest. "He got away Danna…" The blonde whispered as he stood up with difficulty.

"Our mission was to return back to Amegakure. Not catch him." Sasori said, although it sounded more like he was telling it to himself than to his blonde partner.

"Danna I'm sorry but he just- And I was-"

"Quiet brat." Sasori said, standing form his spot and looking over at his damaged puppet. Of course he had the blueprints of the puppet embedded in his mind, but seeing something you worked on for hours was… more than disappointing. It was **humiliating**.

Sasori looked over at Deidara, noticing the small cuts and bruises the boy received from the fight. The blonde swore that Sasori was going to reprimand with the way he was looking at his cuts. The bomber braced for whatever his Danna was going to say and wiped at the blood trickling from his mouth.

"Deidara."

Emotionless blue eyes met Sasori's light grey pupils.

"You… You did great Deidara. I'm so proud of you..."

Deidara became surprised as he watched a small smile grace the shorter boy's features; a different loving smile that Deidara had never seen from the red head. The blonde could only compare it to an apology.

And after awhile of silence the blonde couldn't help but sigh and let out a small smile himself.

* * *

_D'awww_. They see eye to eye now! :D But L says I am absolutely evil for letting "Oro the Pedo" get away with mocking Sasori. D: !  
Review if you can, please. Reviews make me explode with happiness. :D The next and final chapter will be updated in three days. Guaranteed!


	12. Chapter 12

Enjoy guys

* * *

_And so the days drifted to weeks, weeks turned to months…  
__And both seemed to never change_.

Sasori watched the sight before him. The red head's legs were crossed and the nail of his thumb was in his mouth. Deidara had thought the idea of exploding the lock on the safe was an excellent plan. It was already being proven wrong. The alarm was sounding in the background of the blonde's cursing.

In the last three years the blonde hadn't changed at all. Sasori figured the only thing Deidara altered was the eye scope's technology. Other than that, the clay artist still used his own methods. Explosives that seemed to create a never ending migraine for a certain puppet master.

"Help me you sadistic bastard!" Deidara called to his partner and grabbed the object they were here for. A gold box engraved with a serpent. Sasori removed the tip of his thumb from his mouth and stood from the bed. The feudal lord's room was grandly decorated with his most prized possessions. The Akatsuki had been asked by the Tsuchikage (Much to Deidara's annoyance) to retrieve a golden box worth a fortune. As the deal was made, a certain two artists were asked to complete the mission.

"I can't believe this idiot keeps such important shit in his room, hm. How obvious." Deidara said, as he opened the window. Deidara's clay bird obediently floated near its creator, and the blonde jumped on, the golden box safe in the crook of his arm. Sasori quickened his pace, not wanting to make Deidara wait, and jumped out the window onto the bird's back. The two soundlessly took flight, away from the mansion like building. Quite the easy mission, but that's how it was when you were Akatsuki members. Only the best of the best were called. Arrogance was your only downfall.

"Are you sure you're capable of carrying that, Deidara?" Sasori asked, pointing at the box in Deidara's hand.

"Yeah, hmm."

Sasori looked back at the mansion. The alarm would have already gained the attention of the guards. "Too easy…" Sasori muttered, his eyes looking over the landscape beneath him. "What? Disappointed you didn't get a new puppet, hmm?" Deidara called back against the wind.

"Tch. I was so sure your recklessness would mess up the mission, I left Hiruko in his scroll." Sasori growled. Deidara laughed at his partner's words. The red head was obviously more annoyed at the fact that Deidara had damaged the shell on the puppet's back on their last mission. Sasori was known to be moody when things didn't go his way. But Deidara ignored it successfully from time to time.

Now was not one of those times.

"Hey listen Sasori-no-Danna; I went through a lot on this mission. I had to get through the guards, find my way through that mansion, and get this box from that god forsaken safe! All the while you just followed like a lost puppy. Now you have the guts to get pissed off at me just because you found this mission boring-"

Sasori pulled on Deidara's ponytail, making the blue eyed teen cry out in surprise. "How about you shut up and let me think brat." Sasori's thin hands released Deidara's hair roughly, and the blonde resisted the urge to punch his partner. Sasori was holding a deadly weapon in the pit of his stomach. The poison drenched coil Deidara found disturbing. Not to mention the silver blades hidden on his back. The shorter artist had closed his eyes already deep in thought. When Deidara made an abrupt turn, the silver eyes opened with anger. Already there were ninja following them.

"What is that?" Sasori asked, pointing at the ninja below them. Deidara smirked and asked innocently, "What's what, Sasori-no-Danna?" Sasori made a noise of frustration. "We were supposed to follow out this mission without attention being called to us! Look at what you've caused with your impulsive behavior!" The silver eyed artist cried. Deidara frowned, keeping his eyes ahead. "We can't let them find the base, I realize that, hmm. We'll kill them off shortly, Sasori. How many are there, hm?"

Sasori looked down, but the sun was close to setting. In the dim light his eyes scanned the area. "There are more about five or six…"

Deidara swooped down dangerously low to the ground after sasori's words. "You fight and I'll fly as back-up." Deidara called back. Sasori shot Deidara a glare before jumping down to the ground. Deidara let the bird hover over the spot and watched through his scope. On the forest floor, Sasori counted six of what seemed to be Jonin. His expressionless face was the perfect mock of death.

The crimson haired puppeteer tore off his cloak quickly, the cord in his stomach shooting out of his stomach, ready to attack the first opponent Sasori set it to. "Watch out!" A ninja cried, only to have a metal cable driven through his covered face. Sasori through the body off the bloodied cord and strategically removed a scroll from his back. He let loose three puppets, all with the promise of deadly weapons hidden in their bodies. Sasori moved the light blue chakra strings left and right, slashing at each attacker with such ease.

Deidara watched from the sky, realizing that Sasori wouldn't need any backup at this rate. But the blonde's protectiveness of his partner denied him the right to look away from the fight. The pyromaniac swopped back low to the ground just as Sasori was finishing of the last of the masked ninja. The blonde jumped to the ground, keeping the clay bird near. Sasori stood before him, not a single hair out of place as he placed the puppets back into their scrolls. Deidara clapped dramatically in the silence.

"Just beautiful Danna. Not the way I'd do it, but true artistry all the same, hmm."

Sasori scowled at the younger's words and grabbed his cloak from Deidara's hand. "Brat, next time you feel like blowing something up, consider yourself." Deidara smirked and immediately the bird landed near the blonde. He hopped upon it, with Sasori following close.

"And how else would we have opened that safe, hm? If anything I was smart to blow it up." Deidara said smugly, getting no answer from Sasori as the puppet master held the box close. "Danna, our next stop is back to Amegakure, right? To receive our next mission, hm?" Deidara called over his shoulder.

Sasori nodded quickly, now holding the golden box closer. But he also kept an arm around Deidara's waist. The last thing he wanted was to fall to the ground and have to pull himself back together (And it was comforting to have Deidara close). The wind blocked all sound from his ears and as it blew harder, the red head's hair flew around his childish face almost painfully. The red head had never experienced something like this. He actually felt his heart hammering in his chest from the exhilaration.

The blonde looked back at his partner looking back at the sky before him. He paid no heed to the ground below him. Only Sasori and keeping the bird in flight mattered. Deidara smiled, realizing how far he had come… How far _they_ had come from their first meeting. It seemed like a far off memory, too old to really matter and yet so fresh in his mind.

But Deidara knew his art would succeed. He felt it. The blonde would prove to Sasori he was an artist by their next mission. The blue eyed teen noticed Sasori looking at the ground and he smiled when he watched the last rays of the sun turn Sasori's hair from red to a dark salmon. Deidara looked towards the horizon, where the sun was beginning to set. It was the fire lighting up the last of the day. The last explosion before the dark of night came.

The wind blew freely around both artists.

And the sky seemed forever calm.

* * *

:'D  
Oh look! I actually finished this! Thank you to my reviewers/readers! You guys get virtual cake. ;) And L gets a thanks, because L actually had the patience to help me out. ;3  
So that's the reason it's called Calm Skies! See how my master plan worked out? :)  
-Eddy


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